Prima Facie Duties Research Paper
1. Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) divided the practice of medicine into three distinct areas: (1) the preservation of health, (2) the cure of disease and (3) the prolongation of life. 2. Prima Facie Duties
Prima facie duties are attributed to W.D. Ross. In an attempt to unite specific aspects of nonconsequentialism with those of utilitarianism, Ross determined that in deciding between ethical alternatives to a problem, the options must be weighed according to the duties that would be fulfilled by performing or not performing each option. Ross described prima facie duties as being intuitive and conditional. He defined intuition as being simply the feeling within that an act or action is right. Prima facie duties are conditional …show more content…
in that they can be overridden and still retain their character as duties. 3. Hippocrates
The Hippocratic Oath was first written in the fifth century B.C. Sometime during the tenth or eleventh century, the oath became Christianized to eliminate references to pagan gods. The oath focuses on the physician’s duty to the patient and to the other members of the health care profession. 4. W.D. Ross
William David Ross (1877-1971) made significant contributions to the translation and interpretation of the works of Aristotle and to moral philosophy.
Ross developed a set of rules geared specifically toward governing professional behaviors. These rules are based on the fulfillment of professional duties. His “The Right and the Good” is arguably one of the most important works of moral philosophy published in the twentieth century. 5. Microallocation
Microallocation involves the determination of who will receive scarce resources such as organ procurement, and it involves solving problems dealing with matters such as shortage of kidneys. 6. Deontology
The purest form was developed by Immanuel Kant. In his theory, Kant sought to exclude the consideration of consequences when making moral decisions or performing moral acts. Since deontology is a duty-based ethical theory, it may also be referred to as nonconsequentialism. There are two categories of deontological ethical theories: act and rule. (1) Act deontology: Each act or action should be evaluated individually to ascertain whether it is right or wrong. (2) Rule deontology: There are one or more rules, which may be derived from the nature of a situation, which serve as the moral standards for ethical decision making. 7. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas provided the world with an ethical theory based on religion. The Natural Law Theory of the Roman Catholic Church, as put forth by Aquinas, stated that people could discover moral principles, which may be described as objective truths, simply by exploring the nature of things and applying reason. According to Aquinas, the ability to reason is a unique God-given trait. Among all living creatures, only humans have this ability. Therefore, according to Aquinas, God has instilled morality within human beings as part of human nature. This morality should guide humans in their quest to preserve life, propagate the species and search for truth and a peaceful society. Moral law, as defined by Aquinas, is based on human beings’ inherent inclinations and ability to use the power of reason when deciding the correct course of conduct. Saint Thomas Aquinas’s natural law ethics is reported to be the basis for most biomedical issues. 8. Macroallocation
Macroallocation determinations are made for all individuals within a certain group regardless of the types of individuals making up the group. For example, in the current economic and policy climate, our nation faces significant challenges to fair and ethical allocation, so this involves macro allocation decisions or determining what funds to expend, goods to make available and methods of distribution. 9. Teleology
Teleological ethical theories deem that the consequences of an act or action should be the main focus when deciding what course of action should be undertaken to solve an ethical problem.
The two most notable types of teleological ethical theories are egoism and utilitarianism. (1) Egoism: the promotion of the best long-term interests of the individual. Egoism may be divided further into two types: personal and impersonal. a. Personal egoists pursue their own best long-term interests. b. Impersonal egoists believe that everyone should choose the act or action that promotes his or her best interests over the long-term. (2) Utilitarianism: Simply holds that we should act to produce the greatest ratio of good to evil for all concerned. Utilitarianism has two categories: act and rule. a. Act Utilitarianism asserts that the correct act is the one that produces the greatest ratio of good to bad. b. Rule Utilitarianism decrees that we should base our actions on the consequences of the rule or rules under which an act or action falls, not on the consequences of the act or action itself.
10. Core Values
The difference in values provides the impetus for ongoing disputes over such issues as abortion, euthanasia and allocation of scarce resources. However, in society, most individuals are expected to possess certain similar values have been
found.
Ten essential values have been found (1) Caring---------Feeling concern or interest for. (2) Honesty --------- Refraining from lying, cheating, and stealing; being truthful, trustworthy, sincere, and fair; not deceiving or distorting. (3) Accountability ---------Being liable and responsible. (4) Promise keeping ----------Adhering to an agreement, providing a basis for expectations. (5) Pursuit of excellent ---------Following a specified course toward superiority. (6) Loyalty -------- Being faithful to ideals. (7) Fairness --------- Performing duties with justice and honesty; exhibiting open-mindedness and a willingness to admit error; treating all equally. (8) Integrity ---------- Refraining from self-promotion, avoiding conflicts of interest, and resisting economic pressure. (9) Respect for others --------- Showing consideration and concern for others. (10) Responsible citizenship-------- Performing one’s duties in accordance with societal values.
11. Timeline of ethical theories
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) divided the practice of medicine into three distinct areas: (1) the preservation of health, (2) the cure of disease and (3) the prolongation of life. 2. Prima Facie Duties
Prima facie duties are attributed to W.D. Ross. In an attempt to unite specific aspects of nonconsequentialism with those of utilitarianism, Ross determined that in deciding between ethical alternatives to a problem, the options must be weighed according to the duties that would be fulfilled by performing or not performing each option. Ross described prima facie duties as being intuitive and conditional. He defined intuition as being simply the feeling within that an act or action is right. Prima facie duties are conditional …show more content…
in that they can be overridden and still retain their character as duties. 3. Hippocrates
The Hippocratic Oath was first written in the fifth century B.C. Sometime during the tenth or eleventh century, the oath became Christianized to eliminate references to pagan gods. The oath focuses on the physician’s duty to the patient and to the other members of the health care profession. 4. W.D. Ross
William David Ross (1877-1971) made significant contributions to the translation and interpretation of the works of Aristotle and to moral philosophy.
Ross developed a set of rules geared specifically toward governing professional behaviors. These rules are based on the fulfillment of professional duties. His “The Right and the Good” is arguably one of the most important works of moral philosophy published in the twentieth century. 5. Microallocation
Microallocation involves the determination of who will receive scarce resources such as organ procurement, and it involves solving problems dealing with matters such as shortage of kidneys. 6. Deontology
The purest form was developed by Immanuel Kant. In his theory, Kant sought to exclude the consideration of consequences when making moral decisions or performing moral acts. Since deontology is a duty-based ethical theory, it may also be referred to as nonconsequentialism. There are two categories of deontological ethical theories: act and rule. (1) Act deontology: Each act or action should be evaluated individually to ascertain whether it is right or wrong. (2) Rule deontology: There are one or more rules, which may be derived from the nature of a situation, which serve as the moral standards for ethical decision making. 7. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas provided the world with an ethical theory based on religion. The Natural Law Theory of the Roman Catholic Church, as put forth by Aquinas, stated that people could discover moral principles, which may be described as objective truths, simply by exploring the nature of things and applying reason. According to Aquinas, the ability to reason is a unique God-given trait. Among all living creatures, only humans have this ability. Therefore, according to Aquinas, God has instilled morality within human beings as part of human nature. This morality should guide humans in their quest to preserve life, propagate the species and search for truth and a peaceful society. Moral law, as defined by Aquinas, is based on human beings’ inherent inclinations and ability to use the power of reason when deciding the correct course of conduct. Saint Thomas Aquinas’s natural law ethics is reported to be the basis for most biomedical issues. 8. Macroallocation
Macroallocation determinations are made for all individuals within a certain group regardless of the types of individuals making up the group. For example, in the current economic and policy climate, our nation faces significant challenges to fair and ethical allocation, so this involves macro allocation decisions or determining what funds to expend, goods to make available and methods of distribution. 9. Teleology
Teleological ethical theories deem that the consequences of an act or action should be the main focus when deciding what course of action should be undertaken to solve an ethical problem.
The two most notable types of teleological ethical theories are egoism and utilitarianism. (1) Egoism: the promotion of the best long-term interests of the individual. Egoism may be divided further into two types: personal and impersonal. a. Personal egoists pursue their own best long-term interests. b. Impersonal egoists believe that everyone should choose the act or action that promotes his or her best interests over the long-term. (2) Utilitarianism: Simply holds that we should act to produce the greatest ratio of good to evil for all concerned. Utilitarianism has two categories: act and rule. a. Act Utilitarianism asserts that the correct act is the one that produces the greatest ratio of good to bad. b. Rule Utilitarianism decrees that we should base our actions on the consequences of the rule or rules under which an act or action falls, not on the consequences of the act or action itself.
10. Core Values
The difference in values provides the impetus for ongoing disputes over such issues as abortion, euthanasia and allocation of scarce resources. However, in society, most individuals are expected to possess certain similar values have been
found.
Ten essential values have been found (1) Caring---------Feeling concern or interest for. (2) Honesty --------- Refraining from lying, cheating, and stealing; being truthful, trustworthy, sincere, and fair; not deceiving or distorting. (3) Accountability ---------Being liable and responsible. (4) Promise keeping ----------Adhering to an agreement, providing a basis for expectations. (5) Pursuit of excellent ---------Following a specified course toward superiority. (6) Loyalty -------- Being faithful to ideals. (7) Fairness --------- Performing duties with justice and honesty; exhibiting open-mindedness and a willingness to admit error; treating all equally. (8) Integrity ---------- Refraining from self-promotion, avoiding conflicts of interest, and resisting economic pressure. (9) Respect for others --------- Showing consideration and concern for others. (10) Responsible citizenship-------- Performing one’s duties in accordance with societal values.
11. Timeline of ethical theories