Key Terms for Ethics and Medical Practice Quiz

Absolute Principle

A moral principle that applies without exceptions.

Act-Utilitarianism

The theory that the rightness of an action depends solely on the relative good produced by the individual action.

Applied Ethics

The use of moral norms and concepts to resolve practical moral issues.

Argument

At least one statement (premise) providing support for another statement (conclusion).

Autonomy

The capacity of individuals to make their own informed decisions, free from coercion.

Beneficence

The principle that we should act to benefit others and promote their well-being.

Bioethics

Applied ethics focused on health care, medical research, and medical technology.

Categorical Imperative

Kant's principle stating that we should act only on maxims that can be willed into universal law, and to treat humanity as ends, not merely as means.

Consequentialist Theory

A theory that asserts the rightness of actions depends solely on their consequences.

Contractarianism

Moral and political theories based on the idea of a social contract or agreement among individuals for mutual advantage.

Cultural Relativism

The view that right actions are those sanctioned by one's culture.

Deductive Argument

An argument intended to give logically conclusive support to its conclusion.

Deontological Theory

A theory that asserts the rightness of actions is determined partly or entirely by their intrinsic value, not just their consequences.

Ethics

The study of morality using the tools and methods of philosophy.

Ethics of Care

The moral theory that centers on feeling for and caring for those with whom you have a special, intimate connection.

Impartiality

The quality of being unbiased and fair, in moral judgment and practice.

Inductive Argument

An argument intended to give probable support to its conclusion.

Justice

The moral principle that concerns what is fair and equitable in the distribution of resources and opportunities.

Metaethics

The study of the meaning and justification of basic moral beliefs.

Moral Argument

An argument whose conclusion is a moral statement.

Moral Obligations

Concerns our duty and actions.

Moral Objectivism

The view that there are moral norms or principles that are valid or true for everyone.

Moral Principles

General guidelines that provide a framework for ethical decision-making.

Moral Theory

An explanation of why an action is right or wrong or why a person or a person's character is good or bad.

Moral Values

Concerns what we judge to be morally good, bad, praiseworthy, or blameworthy--character or motives.

Natural Law Theory

The view that right actions are those that conform to moral standards discerned in nature through human reason.

Nonmaleficence

The principle of doing no harm.

Normative Dominance

The quality of a moral norm that it takes priority over other norms.

Normative Ethics

The search for, and justification of, moral standards, or norms.

Prima Facie Principle

A moral principle that applies in all cases unless an exception is warranted.

Principlism

The theory that right actions are determined by a weighing of multiple moral principles, not by a single rule or theory.

Reasonableness

The quality of a moral norm that it should be based on reason, not personal feelings or biases.

Rule-Utilitarianism

A right action is one that conforms to a rule that, if followed consistently, would create for everyone involved the most beneficial balance of good over bad.

Subjective Relativism

The view that right actions are those sanctioned by a person.

Universality

The quality of a moral norm that it should apply to everyone in similar situations.

Utilitarianism

The theory that right actions are those that result in the most beneficial balance of good over bad consequences for everyone involved.

Utility

The principle of maximizing the greatest good for the greatest number.

Virtue Ethics

A moral theory that focuses on the development of virtuous character.

Autonomy

A person's rational capacity for self-governance or self-determination.

Medical Futility

The alleged pointlessness or ineffectiveness of administering particular treatments.

Paternalism

The overriding of a person's actions or decision-making for his own good.

Strong Paternalism

The overriding of a person's actions or choices, even though he is substantially autonomous.

Weak Paternalism

Paternalism directed at persons who cannot act autonomously or whose autonomy is greatly diminished.

Confidentiality

An obligation or pledge of physicians, nurses, and others to keep secret the personal health information of patients unless they consent to disclosure.

Right to privacy

The authority of persons to control who may possess and use information about themselves.

Truth-telling

A concept with differing views; it can be seen as empowering and essential for maintaining a patient's sense of agency and control, but can also be viewed as traumatic and demoralizing.

Beneficence

A duty that physicians fulfill by respecting patient confidentiality.

Prima facie

Describes the concept of confidentiality as not absolute, allowing for exceptions when other duties are more important.

Duty to Warn

An example of an exception to confidentiality, justified when weighed against the duty to prevent serious harm to the patient or others.

Competence

The ability to render decisions about medical interventions.

Informed Consent

The action of an autonomous, informed person agreeing to submit to medical treatment or experimentation.

Therapeutic Privilege

The withholding of relevant information from a patient when the physician believes disclosure would likely do harm.

Waiver

The patient's voluntary and deliberate giving up of the right to informed consent.

Blinding

A procedure for ensuring that subjects and researchers do not know which interventions the subjects receive.

Clinical Trial

A scientific study designed to test systematically a medical intervention in humans.

Placebo

An inactive or sham treatment.

Randomization

The assigning of subjects randomly to both experimental and control groups.

Abortion

The ending of a pregnancy.

Induced abortion

The intentional termination of a pregnancy through drugs or surgery.

Quickening

At about 16 to 20 weeks of pregnancy, a pregnant woman's experience of fetal movement inside her.

Spontaneous abortion or miscarriage

An abortion due to natural causes such as a birth defect or maternal injury.

Therapeutic abortion

Abortion performed to preserve the life or health of the mother.

Viability

The development stage when the fetus can survive outside the uterus.

Cloning

the asexual production of a genetically identical entity from an existing one.

Cloning, reproductive

cloning aimed at the live birth of an individual.

Cloning, therapeutic or research

cloning done for purposes other than producing a live individual.

Cycle (in assisted reproductive technology [ART])

a sequence of steps involved in trying to achieve pregnancy through ART, typically extending from egg retrieval to embryo transfer.

Infertility

the inability to get pregnant after one year of unprotected sex.

In Vitro Fertilization

the uniting of sperm and egg in a lab dish.

Surrogate

a woman who gestates a fetus for others, usually for a couple or another woman.

Chromosome

a string-like, gene-containing molecule in the nucleus of a cell.

Eugenics

the deliberate attempt to improve the genetic makeup of humans by manipulating reproduction.

Gene

the fundamental unit of biological inheritance.

Gene therapy

the manipulation of someone's genetic material to prevent or treat disease.

Genetic discrimination

the use of genetic information by employers, insurance companies, and others to discriminate against or stigmatize people.

Genetic testing

procedures used to check for genetic disorders by looking for changes in a person's DNA.

Genome

an organism's entire complement of DNA.

Active Euthanasia

performing an action that directly causes someone to die; 'mercy killing.'

Euthanasia

directly or indirectly bringing about the death of another person for that person's sake.

Involuntary euthanasia

bringing about someone's death against her will or without asking for her consent although she is competent to decide.

Non Voluntary euthanasia

Euthanasia performed when patients are not competent to choose it for themselves and have no previously disclosed their preferences.

Passive euthanasia

allowing someone to die by not doing something that would prolong life.

Physician-assisted suicide

a patient's taking his or her own life with the aid of a physician.

Voluntary euthanasia

euthanasia performed when competent patients voluntarily request of agree to it.

Triage

The sorting and allocation of treatments to patients in an emergency to maximize the number of survivors in medical emergencies.

Epidemic

The phenomenon in which a disease occurs in larger numbers than expected in a particular population and geographic area.

Pandemic

An epidemic that has spread worldwide.

Quarantine

The separation from others of people who have been exposed to a disease.

Self-isolation

The practice of asking people who are sick with a contagious disease or have symptoms to stay home and go out only in an emergency.