Lecture 13 - Ethics

Question 1

WHat is the problem?

Answer 1

-moral problem
-sometimes when a doctor does something with the hope of somethign good, somethign bad happens.
-How can we tell weather it was an act of good or bad?
-other people would be arrested if somethign like thsi happened.
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Question 2

Pallative care and opiates

Answer 2

• was belived that opiates such as morphine, may shorten life through supressing respiration, when given in doses associated with paliation of end stage terminal disease
• is it ethically acceptable to relive pain at the end fo life? even if doign so shortens life
• evidence now suggetst that when adminisitrng acordign to guidelines, opiates do not shrotedn life

Question 3

How can we weight it up?

Answer 3

Does the good override the bad?

when patient is near death - is this the act of killing or letting someone die according to their wishes

Question 4

Doctrine of double effect

Answer 4

-tool that enables us to establish which actions are overall justified

The doctrine of double effect. This doctrine says that if doing something morally good has a morally bad side-effect it’s ethically OK to do it providing the bad side-effect wasn’t intended. This is true even if you foresaw that the bad effect would probably happen.

Question 5

EAch of the 4 coniditons must be meet in order for an action to be btoh good and bad effect to be justified

Answer 5

1. act must be good or at least morally neutral (independet of consequences)
2. the agnets intends only the good effect - the bad effect may be foreseen, toelrated and permitned but is not intented. if the good effect can be achievee without the bad it should be
3. the bad effect mustnot be a means to the good effect
4. the good effect must outeight the bad effect

Question 6

These 4 requirements ensure the followign does not happen

Answer 6

1. actions taht are morally wrong cannot be justified through a good effect
2. That actions that are undertaken with a malciious or ill will, or for the purpose of securign the bad effect are not justified
3. proportinality ad the action can be justified by reference to net good effect

Question 7

What is hard with this?