PMTP 1 - Lesson 3

• Ethics is the moral code that guides how an individual should behave
• Ethics is about the individual's search for

  meaning while dealing with human problems according to Timbreza (1993)
• The word "ethic" comes from the Greek word ethos, which means character or disposition.
• Human problems may be:

  (1) logical, (2) epistemological, (3) cosmological, (4) ethical, (4) aesthetical, or (5) scientific
• Logical includes problems of reasoning
• Epistemological deals with the problems of truth
• Cosmological deals with the problems of the universe
• Ethical deals with the problems of morality
• Aesthetical deals with the problems of art and beauty
• Scientific problems deals with the problems of science
• life is a perpetual process of making

  sense of the absurdity of ones' existence.
• Ethics deals with a diverse prescription of universal concepts and principles that serve as

  foundation of moral beliefs
• ethical relativism states that there is no such universal or absolute ethical principle that would apply to all
• right or wrong are always relative depending on cultural and social factors
• For Donal Harrington, morality can be

  veiwed in different perspectives
• Morality can be viewed perspectively as a (1) Law, (2) inner conviction, (3) love, (4) personal growth, (5) and as social transformation
• there are also nuances between ethics and morality as illustrated by James Gustafson (1974)
• Ethics are based on theoretical prescriptions/critiques

  like (1) The nature of the good (2) The nature of human person, and (3) Criteria of judgment
• Morality is based on principles practiced by a particular community including (1) Fundamental convictions of human agent, (2) Character of moral agent, (3) Use of norms, and (4) Situational analysis
• Ethical relativism is also known as moral relativism
• Ethical relativism is a school of ethics anchored on the

  principle that morality is relative to the norms of a particular culture
• Ethical relativism is a theory based

  on norms relative to a particular culture or society.
• societal diversity is when every society has a unique moral design and culture
• people's beliefs are greatly influenced by culture
• the (1) preservation of cultural uniqueness and (2) acknowledgment of cultural differences is the challenge to each society.
• Pragmatism is a philosophical approach or movement that began in the 1870s
• Pragmatism was coined by Charles Sanders Peirce and further developed by William James
• Pragmatism is a theory on knowledge, truth, and meaning rather than morality.
• a pragmatic conception of good and truth can be applied in the medical context especially ni terms of decision making and moral reasoning
• Ethical Utilitarianism is founded by two English Philosophers Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mil (1806-1873)
• Ethical Utilitarianism states that the rightness or wrongness of actions is determined by their consequences.
• The principle of utility formulated by Mil states that

  actions are good insofar as they tend to promote happiness
• The principle of utility formulated by Mil states that

  actions are bad as they tend to produce unhappiness.
• The utility or usefulness of an action si determined by the extent to which it promotes happiness rather than its reverse
• (1) Diversity, (2) Decision making, (3) compliance, and (4) governance are some of the concerns that need to be considered when doing an ethical review in the context of the health care profession
• Moral Issues Includes: (1) Abortion, (2) Euthanasia, and (3) Genetic Engineering
• Article II, Section 12 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution

  states that:

  The state recognizes the sanctity of life and shall protect and strengthen the family as

  a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception (Article II, Section 12).
• Abortion can be direct, induced, or even caused by natural cases or accidents (Spontaneous abortion)
• For anti-abortion groups, abortion is the ultimate violation of life for it is the act of killing an individual that is not yet able to speak for himself or herself.
• Euthanasia is also called Mercy Killing