health care ethics midterm

what are the right, the good, and moral worth and examples

-right = actions (natural law theory)
-good = positive moral value (happiness)
-moral worth= character (generosity)

what are the 7 standards of evaluating moral theory

1. consistency: theory shouldn’t contradict itself

2. determinacy: clearly state what’s right and wrong

3. applicability: must be able to be applied

4. publicity: should be taught to others (ethical egoism)

5. internal support: advocate for what we generally know to be good or bad

6. external support: shouldn’t disagree w sciences (divine command theory)

7. explanatory power: explain why actions are right or wrong

what are pence’s five criteria for a strong ethical argument

1. give reasons: justify position w evidence

2. universalization: “what if everyone did that?”

3. impartiality: treat everyone the same, no exceptions

4. reasonableness: being open to other points of view

5. civility": agree fairly and rationally, don’t attack opponents

what are the 4 principles of biomedical ethics and explain

1. pt autonomy: right to make decisions about one’s own life and body w/o coercion

2. beneficence: helping others

3. nonmaleficence: not harming others

4. justice: social (treating people w/o bias) or political (giving people what is due to them

what is rawl’s theory of justice and veil of ignorance

how would you create laws if you were completely ignorant of who you are… ex affordable healthcare

what is moral relativism and a criticism

there are no universal truths across cultures so we shouldn’t judge other cultures for their actions… internal support: nazi Germany thought it was ok to mass murder jews and others

what is Aristotle’s def of happiness

an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue

what is the full definition of virtue

the mean state between excess and deficiency of feelings and actions

know virtues and vices!!

fear and confidence, pleasure and pain (moral relativism ws)

what is natural law and how does it determine proper conduct

what humans desire / pursue should be what should be promoted

what are the four inclinations or values indicated by human behavior and what should we do or not do to respect those values

1. live

2. procreate and raise offspring

3. knowledge

4. sociability

what is the principle of totality

the human body can only be altered to ensure optimal function … someone who needs an amputation

what is the principle of forefiture

the only time you may take a life is if it’s in defense of your own

what are the four conditions that must be met for an action to be morally permissible

1. the action, apart from its consequence must be morally permissible

2. the bad effect can’t be avoided if the good effect is to be achieved

3. the bad effect must not be a means of getting the good effect, only a side effect

4. the good effect must be equal or greater than the bad effect

what is good and bad according to utilitarianism

good = happiness / pleasure, bad = pain

what is the principle of utility and the greatest happiness principle

• utility: an action is right only if it produces at least as much happiness (good) as any other option

• greatest: the rightness of an action is in proportion to the amount of happiness it produces for the greatest amount of people

what is act utilitarianism and what is rule utilitarianism

• act: an action is only right if the act produces the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people

• rule: an action is right if it conforms to a set of rules if it produces the greatest amount of happiness (if everyone did this, what would be the outcome?)… if a doc took the life of one person to save 5

how does mill respond to the charge that utilitarianism is often charged with promoting the mindless pleasure-driven life of animals

humans have higher pleasures that animals cannot feel… we would not be satisfied with the life of an animal

what is good without qualification

the good will

what makes a good will good

it has dutiful intention / the maxims it follow are in accordance with duty

what is a maxim (ACE model)

a subjective principle of volition / an abstract description of an intended action → if I do this action, in this circumstance, for this end

what is a hypothetical imperative and categorical imperative

• hypothetical: commands us to do an action as a means to an end (go to bed if you want to be well rested)

• categorical: do an action for its own sake (I shouldn’t lie bc it’s wrong)

what is the first categorical imperative

act on that maxim you could will into a universal law of nature

what is the second categorical imperative

treat people as an end themselves and not as a means to an end (what actions are using people and which are not… physician assistant suicide: committing is using themselves as a means to an end to escape future suffering and self-love means not killing yourself

what does bourse define health and disease

health is statistically normal biological function and disease is a function below

what two higher level functions, if compromised, entail a diseased state

survival and reproduction

what is medicalization

process by which a condition becomes warranting medical attention

what are the differences between illness, sickness, and disease

• illness: self

• sickness: society

• disease: doctor / med professionals

Reined identifies five dangers of medicalization

1. expert control: when a particular subject matter can only be talked about by professionals (like vaccines) … is good if there’s expert competency

2. medical social control is when condition is medicalized gives doctors ability to effect a person

3. individualization of social problems: something that is a social problem effects a person like when someone has depression you say there’s bad brain chem, instead of addressing what actually might be causing it (poverty, economic distress)

4. pathologies political descent: if someone is protesting the government then they could be labeled as crazy

5. treat something that is socially constructed as if its normal…n being a minority was a disease that could be treated by slavery

know just one of these well

four ways medicalization can disrupt unjust social power structures, with examples

1. destigmatization.. HIV and AIDS