Bioethics and Ethical Frameworks

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering foundational bioethics principles, ethical frameworks, truth-telling, confidentiality, informed consent, disease definitions, drug prohibition, and abortion arguments.

Primum Non Nocere

Latin for "First, do no harm" (the principle of non-maleficence).

Beneficence (beauchamp)

The ethical duty to act in the best interest of the patient and promote their well-being.

Non-Maleficence (beauchamp from kos)

The duty to do no harm and avoid inflicting unnecessary pain or injury.

Medical Paternalism (Mill is against)

When a physician overrides a patient's autonomy or preferences "for their own good."

Consequentialism (Bentham and Mill)

An ethical theory judging the rightness of an action solely by its outcome or consequences.

Utilitarianism ( Bentham - Act, Mill - Rule)

A specific form of consequentialism that seeks to maximize overall happiness or well-being ("the greatest good for the greatest number").

Utility - hume

The net amount of pleasure, happiness, or welfare produced by an action minus any pain or suffering.

Act vs. Rule Utilitarianism

Act evaluates each individual action's consequences; Rule follows general rules that tend to produce the best overall consequences if followed universally.

Deontology - kant

Duty-based ethics (associated with Immanuel Kant) holding that certain actions are intrinsically right or wrong regardless of their consequences.

Categorical Imperative - kant

Kant's central moral rule: act only according to maxims that can be universalized without logical contradiction, and treat humanity always as an end, never merely as a means.

Autonomy (Mill, Kant, Thompson)

The capacity to govern oneself, give oneself the moral law through rational reasoning, and make independent choices.

Maxim (Kant)

A general truth, fundamental principle, or rule of conduct.

Virtue Ethics (Hursthouse)

An ethical approach focusing on the moral character, traits, and virtues of the agent rather than specific rules or consequences.

Virtue / Vice

A commendable character trait (e.g., compassion, honesty) versus a blameworthy one.

Phronesis (Aristotle)

Practical wisdom or moral intelligence—knowing the right thing to do in a complex situation.

Eudaimonia (Aristotle, Plato, socrates)

Human flourishing, well-being, or living a fulfilled, virtuous life.

The "Noble Lie" (Plato)

A deception practiced by a physician believing it protects the patient's emotional or physical well-being.

Psychological Devastation (Collins)

Collins' argument that blunt truth-telling shatters patient morale and worsens health outcomes.

Truth as a Moral Imperative (higgs)

Higgs' view that truth-telling is a fundamental obligation and that bad patient reactions are usually caused by poor physician communication, not the truth itself.

Medical Confidentiality (Seigler v Kipnis)

The professional duty to keep patient information private.

"Decrepit" Concept (Seigler)

Siegler's argument that traditional 1-on-1 confidentiality is outdated due to modern, multi-disciplinary healthcare teams and electronic records.

"Need-to-Know" System (Siegler)

Siegler's proposed model restricting patient information only to those directly involved in care.

Unqualified Confidentiality (Kipnis)

Kipnis's defense of absolute professional confidentiality, arguing that breaking trust creates a larger public disaster by driving patients away from care.

The Harm Principle (John Stuart Mill)

The rule that the only justification for society or the state to coerce a competent individual is to prevent harm to others (prohibiting paternalism).

Informed Consent

The requirement that patients must be fully informed of risks, benefits, and alternatives, and give voluntary permission before treatment.

Competence (Capacity)

The mental ability of a patient to understand information, appreciate their situation, reason through choices, and communicate a decision.

Emergency Doctrine Exception

The legal/ethical exception allowing physicians to treat unconscious or incapacitated patients without prior consent to save their life.

Battery (Legal Context)

Performing medical procedures without consent, legally treated as harmful or offensive physical contact.

Disease vs. Illness (Kaufman)

Disease is an objective, biomedical malfunction of a biological system; Illness is the subjective, lived human experience of feeling unwell.

Medicalization

The process by which non-medical problems, human conditions, or behaviors come to be defined and treated as medical diseases.

Legal Moralism

The view that the law can legitimately prohibit actions deemed immoral, even if they do not harm others.

Decriminalization vs. Legalization

Removing criminal penalties for possession/use vs. regulating and making production/sale legal.

Bodily Autonomy

The right to govern what happens to and inside one's own body.

Violinist Analogy (Thomson)

A thought experiment arguing that even if a fetus has a right to life, it does not have the right to use another person's body against their will (similar to being hooked up to a famous violinist's kidneys).

Future-Like-Ours (FLO) Argument (Marquis)

The argument that abortion is seriously wrong because it deprives the fetus of a valuable future filled with experiences, projects, and joys.