HSC4652L: Exam 1 Vocabulary

Personhood

how we decide who is in the "moral community," that is, the group that is included as worthy of moral and ethical consideration

Autonomy

• Right to self-determination of choice and freedom from the control of others.

• The difference between freedom of action and freedom of choice.

• The right of another to choose and act in accordance with his or her own wishes  

• Although people should have the freedom to make choices, the ability to act on those choices is limited by the autonomy of others.

• Necessary conditions for autonomy

  • Voluntarism

  • Competence

  • Full disclosure of (accurate) information

Beneficence

• Contributing to the well-being of others

• Contribute to the growth and development of clients within their cultural context.

• More active concept

• General social obligation to provide mutual aid to members of society who are in need of assistance

Non-maleficence

• Avoiding doing harm.

• Refraining from actions that risk hurting clients.

• Usually passive compared to the other ethical principles.

• Avoiding placing others at risk.

Justice

Equality, Equity

• Principles of Justice

  • Equal shares

  • Motivation/effort

  • Contribution

  • Free market exchange

  • Fair opportunity

Equality

Fair by giving equally to others.

• Regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, cultural background, religion, or sexual orientation.  

Federal Law: Statutory Law

• Called "statutes, acts, or ordinances."

• Statutory laws are "designed to establish rules, regulate behavior, allocate resources, or create programs.

• Primarily written and enacted by legislative bodies (e.g. The United States Senate, The United States House of Representatives)

• Ideally, statutes reflect some sort of broadly shared value(s).

Federal Law: Constitutional Law

• foundational "law of the land"

• sets out the three branches of government, the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches.

• determined through constitutional conventions

Federal Law Common (Case) Law and Tort Law, and Contracts

• unwritten legal principles established by courts through rulings

• Tort laws are civil wrongs causing harm or injury

• Contracts are enforceable agreements  developed through common law

Regulatory/ Executive

• Laws are interpreted and implemented by the executive branch

• Set out through regulations, guidelines/rules that are based in statutory and common law.

State/Local

• State governments, with few exceptions, mirror the Federal government.  

• State statutory laws are created by state senates, state houses of representatives

• State laws are implemented by the executive branch (i.e., Governor, Attorney General, State Executive branch offices).

• State common law - law derived from state judicial decisions. Future state courts must follow when deciding similar, but new, situations.

• Constitutional Law - body of law that derives from the state constitution. This outlines the fundamental principles a state is founded on.