ETHICS: A CRASH COURSE
BY MR. SOLOMON
WHAT IS ETHICS?
• Ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act
• Simply put, ethics is the study of right and wrong
• Ethics is hard
• There is such a thing as a wrong answer in ethics – it is any answer not supported by sound logic and reasonable thought
WHAT ETHICS IS NOT:
• Ethics is not the same as feelings. Often our feelings will tell us it is uncomfortable to do the right thing if it is hard.
• Ethics is not religion. Many people are not religious, but ethics applies to everyone. Most religions do advocate high ethical standards
• Ethics is not following the law. A good system of law does incorporate many ethical standards, but law can deviate from what is ethical.
• Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms. Some cultures are quite ethical, but others become corrupt -or blind to certain ethical concerns (as the United States was to slavery before the Civil War).
• Ethics is not science. Science may provide an explanation for what humans are like. But ethics provides reasons for how humans ought to act. And just because
WHY IS ETHICS HARD?
1.
On what do we base our ethical standards?
SOME COMMON APPROACHES TO ETHICS
• The Utilitarian Approach
Some ethicists emphasize that the ethical action is the one that provides the most good or does the least harm, or, to put it another way, produces the greatest balance of good over harm.
• The Rights Approach
Other philosophers and ethicists suggest that the ethical action is the one that best protects and respects the moral rights of those affected. The list of moral rights is highly debated
• The Fairness or Justice Approach
SOME COMMON APPROACHES TO ETHICS
• The Common Good Approach
This approach calls attention to the common conditions that are important to the welfare of everyone.
• The Virtue Approach
A very ancient approach to ethics is that ethical actions ought to be consistent
with certain ideal virtues that provide for the full development of our humanity -- truth and beauty. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, tolerance, love,
SOME COMMON APPROACHES TO ETHICS
These approaches all help determine what is ethical, but :
•
Definitions of “rights” and “good” and “equal” are debatable
•
The more novel and difficult the ethical choice we
face, the more we need to rely on discussion and
dialogue with others about the dilemma. Only by
careful exploration of the problem, aided by the
A FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
1. Recognize an Ethical Issue
•
Could this decision or situation be damaging to
someone or to some group? Does this decision
involve a choice between a good and bad alternative,
or perhaps between two "goods" or between two
"bads"?
A FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
2. Get the Facts
•
What are the relevant facts of the case? What facts are not
known? Can I learn more about the situation? Do I know
enough to make a decision?
•
What individuals and groups have an important stake in the
outcome? Are some concerns more important? Why?
•
What are the options for acting? Have all the relevant persons
and groups been consulted? Have I identified creative
A FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
3. Evaluate Alternative Actions
Evaluate the options by asking the following questions:
• Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm? (The Utilitarian Approach)
• Which option best respects the rights of all who have a stake? (The Rights Approach)
• Which option treats people equally or proportionately? (The Justice Approach)
• Which option best serves the community as a whole, not just some members?
(The Common Good Approach)
A FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
4. Make a Decision and Test It
•
Considering all these approaches, which option best
addresses the situation?
•
If I told someone I respect-or told a television
A FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
5. Act and Reflect on the Outcome
How can my decision be implemented with the greatest
care and attention to the concerns of all stakeholders?
Let’s Practice: Certain Death Scenario
•
Health care from the gamma knife to allergy medication costs money. Many
of us never see this elephant. Our health care is paid for by the government
or our insurer. Yes, we may have a co-pay, but we are never confronted
with the true cost of caring for our health. The money elephant has caused
many of us to consider whether or not there is a dollar limit to the value of
human life. Is there a point when it is simply too expensive to keep heart
pumping and lungs breathing? The statistic that we spend one third of our
health care dollars during the last year of life has become a verbal prod,
forcing us to consider, "Is it worth it?“ Is it ever right to consider the cost of
medical intervention—even life-saving intervention—in our decisions about
how aggressively to treat a patient? Dying patients deserve to be treated
with dignity and respect but that does not necessarily require—and
sometimes mandates against—aggressive and expensive medical
REMEMBER, THESE ARE MY INCOMPLETE
MR. SOLOMON’S THINK ALOUD
1. Recognize an Ethical Issue
•
Could this decision or situation be damaging to someone or to some
group? Does this decision involve a choice between a good and bad
alternative, or perhaps between two "goods" or between two "bads“
•
two bads – spend too much money or allow/assist with death
•
Is this issue about more than what is legal or what is most efficient? If so,
how?
MR. SOLOMON’S THINK ALOUD
2. Get the Facts
•
What are the relevant facts of the case? What facts are not known? Can
I learn more about the situation? Do I know enough to make a
decision?
•
Known: 1/3 of costs occur in the last year of life
•
Unknown: Do individuals want “a way out?”
•
What individuals and groups have an important stake in the outcome?
Are some concerns more important? Why?
•
Insurance companies and government have economic stake
•
Dying patients have the biggest stake – they should decide
•
What are the options for acting? Have all the relevant persons and
groups been consulted? Have I identified creative options?
•
Allow individuals to choose only pain treatment
•
Allow individuals to refuse life saving techniques
MR. SOLOMON’S THINK ALOUD
3. Evaluate Alternative Actions
Evaluate the options by asking the following questions:
• Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm? (The Utilitarian Approach)
•Allow a fatally ill individual to choose their own action – harmless and saves
money
• Which option best respects the rights of all who have a stake? (The Rights Approach)
•Assuming the ill individual has the major rights, they should choose. They
have the right to any choice provided they are capable of making a decision
• Which option treats people equally or proportionately? (The Justice Approach)
• Which option best serves the community as a whole, not just some members? (The Common Good Approach)
•Allowing the ill individual to choose benefits the commoners – more resources
available to more people
MR. SOLOMON’S THINK ALOUD
4. Make a Decision and Test It
•
Considering all these approaches, which option best addresses the
situation?
•
Do not allow money to influence decision, allow the ill individual to
choose! Full treatment, non-invasive/non-resuscitating methods, pain
management, physician-assisted suicide
•
If I told someone I respect-or told a television audience-which option I
have chosen, what would they say?
MR. SOLOMON’S THINK ALOUD
5. Act and Reflect on the Outcome
•
How can my decision be implemented with the greatest care and attention
to the concerns of all stakeholders?
•
Allow ill patients any choice
•
How did my decision turn out and what have I learned from this specific
situation?
YOUR TURN
Jack is a fixture of the neighborhood right outside the gates of a large, urban university. Homeless for the past 13 years, Jack carries all of his belongings in a shopping cart, to which he also hitches his faithful dog, Rufus. Every day, Jack takes up a position outside the fast food joint across the street from the campus, where he solicits passersby for change. Most nights, he
sleeps in a nearby parking lot, but when it gets really cold, he has been known to sneak into the campus library and labs to keep warm. A veteran of the Gulf War, Jack obviously has his
demons, and he can sometimes be seen drowning them in a bottle of wine half-concealed in a brown paper bag.
As a freshman at the university, Mandy encounters Jack in the second week she is on
campus, when she goes off campus with fellow members of the water polo team for a late night snack. When she sees his cardboard sign— "Homeless Vet. Please Help"— Mandy throws a few quarters into the paper cup he holds out.
"Don't give him money," Jocelyn, a junior teammate warns her. "He'll just spend it on alcohol."
"If everybody would stop giving these freeloaders a handout, they would go hang out somewhere else," adds Ella. "They're scary."
"Oh, Jack's harmless," Meg, a senior, chimes in. "I give him something when I can." "You just do that to salve your conscience," Jordan says. "Giving money to individual panhandlers doesn't do anything about the root causes of poverty in this country. You should join Students Act Against Homelessness if you really want to make a difference."
A FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
1. Recognize an Ethical Issue
•
Could this decision or situation be damaging to
someone or to some group? Does this decision
involve a choice between a good and bad alternative,
or perhaps between two "goods" or between two
"bads"?
A FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
2. Get the Facts
•
What are the relevant facts of the case? What facts are not
known? Can I learn more about the situation? Do I know
enough to make a decision?
•
What individuals and groups have an important stake in the
outcome? Are some concerns more important? Why?
•
What are the options for acting? Have all the relevant persons
and groups been consulted? Have I identified creative
A FRAMEWORK FOR ETHICAL DECISION MAKING
3. Evaluate Alternative Actions
Evaluate the options by asking the following questions:
• Which option will produce the most good and do the least harm? (The Utilitarian Approach)
• Which option best respects the rights of all who have a stake? (The Rights Approach)
• Which option treats people equally or proportionately? (The Justice Approach)
• Which option best serves the community as a whole, not just some members?
(The Common Good Approach)
