BIOETHICS L2 PT.1

Bioethics

is an applied ethical study that deals with moral problems that demand deliberate decisions.

Moral rules

are grounded on ethical principles and theories, justify moral judgments and decisions.

teleological or consequential and deontological

Ethicists usually classify ethical theories as ____

telos

Teleological ethics comes from the Greek word ____

 "end" or "purpose"

telos means _____

Teleological ethics

stresses the end result, goal, or consequence of an act as the determining factor of its rightness and wrongness.

consequential ethics

Teleological ethics is also called ____

deon

deontological ethics comes from the Greek word ___

"duty" or "obligation"

deon which means ____

deontological ethics

stresses duty as the norm of moral actions

duty ethics

deontological ethics is also known as

deontological ethics i

It underscores the feature of the act or kind of the act itself rather than the balance of harm and good-the value over the disvalue that is produced by the action

rule ethics and act ethics

Recently, bioethicists have introduced the classification of ethics into ____, resulting from the influence of utilitarianism

Rule ethics

 it appeals to a set of criteria, norms, or rules to settle what the right, just, and ethical decision is to make

act ethics

determines an act's rightness and wrongness by weighing its consequences.

Ten Commandments in the Judaeo-Christian religion

example of rule ethics

utilitarianism and situation ethics

example of act ethics

moral relativism

Ethical Relativism is also known as

Ethical Relativism

this ethical doctrine claims that there are no universal or absolute moral principles

Ethical Relativism

Standards of right and wrong are always relative to a particular culture or society. The moral opinion of one individual is as good as any other because there is no objective basis for saying that a particular action is right or wrong apart from a specific social group

• Every culture has its own norm of moral actions.

• Some societies that consider several kinds of actions or practices as right may be considered wrong by other societies

Strengths of Ethical Relativism

• One feels that the cruelty or wickedness of the act is not dependent upon our culture alone but is universally acknowledged to be so

• Another example is the view that Hitler was wicked in killing six million Jews. Here, one cannot be an ethical relativist, for the wrongness or wickedness of Hitler's act does not depend upon Jewish culture only.

• Ethical relativism appears to be self-contradictory and inconsistent

Criticisms and objections of Ethical Relativism

Joseph Fletcher

Situation ethics is advocated by _____

Situation Ethics: The New Morality (1966)

Joseph Fletcher is an American Protestant medical doctor and the author of ____

legalism, antinomianism, and situationism

Fletcher mentions three approaches to morality:

 legalism

it prescribes certain general moral prescriptions, laws, or norms that are used to judge, determine, and settle the rightness and wrongness of human judgments or decisions.

restrictive and circumscribed

Fletcher considers legalism as too _____, inadequate for and insensitive to the complexity of the varying situations in which one finds oneself.

antinomianism

it frees the Christian from the obligations of the moral law, in which case there are no absolute precepts or moral principles by which to be guided in making decisions.

unorthodox

For Fletcher, antinomianism is ____ and provides too much freedom to individuals, which may result in anarchy and moral chaos.

Situationism

_____ is Fletcher's preferred approach to the problem of morality.

Situationism

it states that the moral norm depends upon a given situation, but whatever this situation may be, one must always act in the name of Christian love.

situation

A ____ in this context refers to a human condition or any state of moral affairs and issues that demands a moral judgment or action

eros, philia, and agape

Fletcher cites three types of love:

Eros

refers to love mostly of the sexual kind between individuals.

Philia or filial love

 refers to the affection that binds a parent to his/her child or between siblings.

Philia or filial love

It can also be expressed as love among equals, friends, and communities.

ambivalent

 eros and philia are ____, either one becomes or deflects the other and vice-versa.

agapeic love

refers to one's care, concern, and kindness towards others

Christian love

_____, in Fletcher's view, best exemplifies agape.

agapeic love

 This is the kind of love by which an individual should act and should settle what is right and wrong as well as just and unjust in any complicated situation, according to Fletcher.

Eros and philia

_____ are not chosen because they are biased and partial and have preferences and inclinations. They are usually motivated by selfish interests and ulterior motives.

1. Proposition I: Only one thing is intrinsically good, namely, love, nothing else.

2. Proposition II: The ultimate norm of Christian decisions is love, nothing else.

3. Proposition III: Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed.

4. Proposition IV: Love wills the neighbor's good whether we like him/her or not.

5. Proposition V: Only the end justifies the means, nothing else.

6. Proposition VI: Decisions ought to be made situationally, not prescriptively.

six propositions are the fundamentals of Christian conscience:

Proposition I: Only one thing is intrinsically good, namely, love, nothing else.

what proposition: Love alone is good per se, the only thing, by its very nature, that is good. Thus, one who acts, decides, and judges by agapeic love can never be wrong.

Proposition II: The ultimate norm of Christian decisions is love, nothing else.

what proposition:  Christians, to deserve their calling, should base their moral judgments on agapeic love. All codes, laws, and rules or principles can be reduced to the love canon alone.

Proposition II: The ultimate norm of Christian decisions is love, nothing else.

what proposition: A Christian loves another not because he/she is a fellow Christian but because he/she is a human being with the same dignity as his/hers.

Proposition III: Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed.

what proposition: Love and justice go together. To love means to be just to the person one loves. If one says he/she loves someone but, at the same time, treats the latter unfairly, he/she is not being faithful or honest with himself/herself.

Proposition IV: Love wills the neighbor's good whether we like him/her or not.

what proposition: One may like or dislike a person because of the qualities and traits that he/she possesses. Hence, an individual may either be likable or unlikable, depending on the good qualities another person may expect that individual to have.

Agapeic love

it is a matter of attitude-perhaps a humane attitude, not one of feeling, in that an individual can still love the people he/she hates.

Proposition V: Only the end justifies the means, nothing else.

what proposition: Fletcher claims that an evil means does not nullify a good end; it all depends on the situation. Circumstances can alter cases. An act which is right in certain circumstances may be wrong in others, that is, one may do what would be evil in some situations, if, in this one, agape gains the balance.

Proposition VI: Decisions ought to be made situationally, not prescriptively.

what proposition: This sums up what situational Christian ethics is all about. There is no ethical system of prefabricated morality.

Agapeic love

it plots the course of action according to the circumstances, and the obligation to make and stand by one's decisions must be carried out.