[HE] Lesson 2

• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA 2010) - era wherein managers of health organizations will find resources to carry out multiple changes and differences
• [Foundations of Ethics]

  1. Ethical theories
  2. Ethical decision making
  3. Assessing choices
  4. Emphasis on patient-centered care
• Note: Nurses are the giver, not the taker.
• PHILOSOPHY

  • chaos of thoughts, beliefs, assumptions, values, and superstitions
  • intense and critical examination of beliefs and assumptions
  • offers principles for deciding what actions and qualities are most worthwhile. It gives shape to what would otherwise be random
• Moral Philosophy

  • philosophical discussion of what is considered good or bad and right or wrong in terms of moral issues
• Ethics

  
  

  study of social morality and philosophical reflection on society’s norms and practices. The study of ethics gives us the groundwork for making logical and consistent decisions
• Nursing Code of Ethics

  • guides nurses in their relationship with patients, colleagues, the profession, and society
  • some were developed by the American Nurses Association, Canadian Nurses Association, and International Council of Nurses
• Naturalism

  • view of moral judgement that regards ethics as dependent upon HUMAN NATURE and PSYCHOLOGY
• Rationalism

  • NOT dependent upon human nature
  • it depends upon the ORIGIN and can be known to humans through the process of REASONING
• Rationalism depends upon the ORIGIN and can be known to humans through the process of REASONING
• Naturalism is a view of moral judgement that regards ethics as dependent upon HUMAN NATURE and PSYCHOLOGY
• What type of ethical theory is Deontology? Answer: KANTIANISM theory
• "deon" = duty
• Deontology, aside from being known as a Kantianism theory, is also known as FORMALISM.
• Deontology

  • act based on DUTY
• Immanuel Kant

  • most influential deontological thinker
  • this person asserted that moral rules are absolute and applicable to all people, at all times, in all situations
• Immanuel Kant proposed 2 types of duties:

  1. Categorical Imperative
  2. Practical Imperative
• Categorical Imperative

  • "you should not lie"
  • moral rules that do not admit exceptions
  • based on REASONS
• Practical Imperative

  • "do not lie"
  • makes his/her ends your own
  • there is an inherent recognition that all people are equal
  • FOR YOUR OWN GOOD
• Teleology is also known and Consequntialism.
• Teleology

  • FOR EVERYONE'S GOODNESS
  • the greatest good for the greatest number
  • consequences of actions are what matters, not the intent
  • has 2 issues
• "telos" = ends
• 2 issues in Teleology:

  1. whether the act is leading to good or bad outcomes
  2. whether the person carrying out the act should be praised or not
• Utilitarianism

  • action is judged as good/bad concerning the consequences, outcome, or result that is derived from it
  • right action is that which has the greatest ability or usefulness
• People involved in Deontology:

  1. Immanuel Kant
• Epicurus

  • believed that both good and evil lie in sensation, pleasure being good and pain being evil
• Jeremy Bentham

  • father of modern utilitarianism
  • "Principle of Utility"
  • created 6 criteria to measure the pleasure
• 6 criteria to measure the pleasure (Acc. to Bentham)

  1. intensity
  2. duration
  3. certainty
  4. propinquity (nearness)
  5. fecundity (ability to think of new ideas)
  6. purity
• John Stuart Mill

  • classical utilitarianism is most often associated with him
  • developed the theory from a pleasure, maximizing version put forward by his mentor, Bentham
  • for him, not all pleasures were equally worthy
  • defined the "good" in terms of well-being and distinguished
  • closer to the virtue theory idea of eudaimonia as a goal
  • believed utilitarianism to be in the spirit of golden rule
• According to Mill, the greatest sources of physical and mental suffering as:

  1. indigence
  2. disease
  3. unkindness
  4. worthlessness
  5. premature loss objects of affection
• Golden Rule: "do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
• People involved in Utilitarianism:

  1. Epicurus
  2. Jeremy Bentham
  3. John Stuart Mill
• Types of Utilitarianism

  1. Act Utilitarianism
  2. Rule Utilitarianism
• Act Utilitarianism

  • "net benefit" (key word)
  • actions -> overall good
• Rule Utilitarianism

  • decision makes develops rules that will have the greatest net benefit
  • people choose rules -> maximized overall good
• Virtue Ethics is sometimes called Character ethics.
• "ethics" = ethika
• Cardinal virtues:

  • wisdom, courage, temperance, justice, generosity, faith, hope, and charity
  • honesty, compassion, trustworthiness, and prudence
• Moral Virtue

  • a character trait that is morally valued such as truthfulness, kindness, honesty
• Aristotle

  • considers goodness of character to be produced by the practice of virtuous behaviors
  • tendency of virtue is to FEEL, ACT, or JUDGE