L1- What is bioethics(Lesson 1- Ethics, Bioethics, and Theology: Exploring the Basics)

Lesson 1- Ethics, Bioethics, and Theology: Exploring the Basics What is Ethics?  Socrates asked practical questions not theoretical – “what ought one to do?”  Ethical deliberations  basic questions Example: on cro ...

Lesson 1- Ethics, Bioethics, and Theology: Exploring the Basics What is Ethics?  Socrates asked practical questions not theoretical – “what ought one to do?”  Ethical deliberations  basic questions Example: on crowded bus you have a seat  one passenger is elderly and has trouble walking but you’re tired and don’t want to give up your seat Ethical deliberation: - What ought I to do in this concrete situation? - Engage in ethical deliberation  thoughtful & careful thinking about an ethical issue Ethics: knowing and doing the good - Dynamic activity in which we engage to figure out what to do - Is NOT codes and laws or rules and regulations - Distinct from morality Ethics & Moral rules:  Our acts have aims and guided by precepts – does not exist in a vacuum Two components that promote “doing well” in what we undertake 1- Having a clear understanding of the goal of our actions o Ethics has to do with the aim of our actions 2- Knowing what rules to follow in order to attain that goal o Morality has to do with the norms inscribed in that aim Ethics vs Morality  Moral norms evolve from within the ethical aim  Complementary relationship between the two  Moral norms must always be kept subordinate to the ethical aim  Ethical deliberation is not about following rules – thoughtful and careful reflection Enlarging the notion of Ethics Ethics of compliance  Complying to rules and regulations  NEGATIVE understanding e.g. slowing down from speeding when you see an officer to avoid ticket Ethics of achievement  Creating possibilities  POSITIVE understanding This study source was downloaded by 100000826007268 from CourseHero.com on 05-14-2021 16:43:39 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/34499007/L1-What-is-bioethicsdocx/ This study resource was shared via CourseHero.com e.g. the purpose of speeding limits? The goal is not the limitation but the achievement of a safe driving experience Ethics as heuristic Heuristic: from ancient Greek  meaning “to find” -related to word EUREKA! Concrete experience  guided by moral norms (laws rules…)  decision Moral Horizon Physical horizon – the limit or boundary of your world Moral horizon – what is important to you -largely inherited from culture, family etc… -contains mistakes (we are immersed in it so unaware of it) -can expand with experience What is Bioethics? Bioethics: a branch of ethics that investigates problems arising from healthcare, medicine, and biological sciences and related technology  Both an academic discipline and a professional practice  A dialogue involving a multitude of voices  Tool that facilitates thinking about how best to make decisions in the context of medicine and the life sciences (biology, biochemistry, biotechnology)  Subfield of broader field of ethics  Prefix “bio” focuses one on the life sciences in exploring the “good” Clinical Ethics: bioethics in a clinical setting – bioethics moves into wards in hospitals and into clinics  The systematic, critical, reasoned evaluation and justification of right and wrong, good and evil in clinical practice  The study of the kinds of person’s healthcare professionals ought or ought not to become  Encounter between healthcare professionals and patient (and family)  Wider than “medical ethics” concerns also nurses, physicians assistants, dentists, psychologists, other healthcare practitioners Activities of clinical ethics: - Ethics consultations - Education - Policy development and review - Research ethics and ethics research This study source was downloaded by 100000826007268 from CourseHero.com on 05-14-2021 16:43:39 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/34499007/L1-What-is-bioethicsdocx/ This study resource was shared via CourseHero.com Historical background to bioethics  Problem or a dilemma always underlies ethical questions  Emergence of discipline in the 1960s  Born from challenges posed by scientific and technological breakthroughs and “loss” of traditional authority  Bioethics emerged out of this authority vacuum  “discoveries and applications began to outpace our ability to reflect on them, and everyone was reeling from the biological revolution.” “They decide who lives, who dies”  How to choose who lives and who dies with first dialysis machine  Criteria: age, gender, marital status, number of dependents, income, future potential, references etc..  Committee was nicknamed “the god committee First human heart transplant – Dr. Christiaan Barnard (1967) Prominent Canadian Cases  1980 Decision-Removed consent from reasonable physician’s standard to reasonable patient standard  focused on what would a reasonable patient needs to know to make a decision?  The matter of Stephen Dawson (1983)  The 1986 Case of Eve  Nancy B. 1992 Dialectic between Potential and Concern  Each application/breakthrough in science  raises as many problems as it solves Human Genome Project  Completed in 2003 – the international genome sequencing consortium was completed  Increased ability to understand and treat diseases  New challenges in delivery to healthcare  Genetic testing for late onset diseases is different because it provides diagnosis with late onset  “not yet ill” social category Nanotechnology  Study and application of extremely small things that can be used across all other science fields What does theology have to do with bioethics? Issues theology might raise in bioethics:  Human dignity This study source was downloaded by 100000826007268 from CourseHero.com on 05-14-2021 16:43:39 GMT -05:00 https://www.coursehero.com/file/34499007/L1-What-is-bioethicsdocx/ This study resource was shared via CourseHero.com  Meaning of suffering  Biological determinism and the problem of freedom  What it means to be human  Common good -human beings are intrinsically social and so there is a moral imperative to promote the common good -theological reverence for the dignity of every human person serves the common good regardless of political, social and religious concerns -ethics is about the good we build and sustain with others -theology and bioethics thus both recognize the interconnectedness of the dignity of the human person and the common good -Christian social teachings stems from a theory of justice founded on recognition of humanities essential relatedness  bioethics shares same recognition of an essential relatedness Theological Questions  In reflecting on how we have structured our societies and our global order, how might we consider these social structures from a perspective that transcends self-interest and even the interest of a particular social order?  How do we transcend our biases to evaluate societal and global social structures and to discern whether, in the long term, they are promoting progress or decline? How is this impacting both individuals and society?  How do we promote this level of analysis in a global order that shapes our understanding of what it means to be human and what our responsibility is toward others? Readings “Theology’s Role in Public Bioethics” – Lisa Sowle Cahill - secular bioethics can work to exclude religious groups (37) -secular sphere is not neutral – all participants come from communities of identity -liberals shy away from life affirming values found in religious communities  one reason why Bush won (39) -theology helps establish a moral point of view in which certain attitudes and dispositions inform the debate  e.g. attitude of respect for God and human life (54)