Ethical school of thoughts one

e

1. Mevelle L. Asuncion ETHICAL SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT

2. CLASSIFICATION OF ETHICS RULE Appeals to a set of criteria, norms or rules Ten commandments ACT Weighing the consequences of the act itself. Ex. Utilitarianism Situation ethics

3. TELEOLOGICAL- Gk. Telos , teleos – end or purpose Also consequential ethics DEONTOLOGICAL Gk. Deontos , deon ---duty Also called duty ethics Focus on the kind of act

4. ETHICAL RELATIVISM There is no universal or absolute moral principle Standards of right and wrong are always relative to a particular society Examples: Eskimos lending or allowing one’s wife to sleep with a special guest Igorots “ olog ” or trial marriage Live-in among Americans Muslims to have several wives African culture to kill twins at birth Jehovah’s witness refuses blood transfusion

5. SITUATION ETHICS Joseph Fletcher 3 approaches to morality Legalism- laws, norms Antinomianism- by the decision of the person involve Situationism Moral norms depends on situations 3 types of love Eros Philia Agape Always act on Christian love (AGAPE)

6. 6 PROPOSITIONS OF SITUATIONISM Only one thing is intrinsically good, namely love: nothing else The ultimate norm of christian decisions is love: nothing else Love and justice are the same, for justice is love distributed. Love wills the neighbor’s good whether we like him or not. Only the end justifies the means: nothing else Decisions ought to be made situationally , not prescriptively.

7. PRAGMATISM Charles Pierce and William James True and valid form of knowledge: Practical Workable Beneficial Useful

8. Questions Should the patient be told about the nature of his/her seriouse illness? Would it be more practical to withold the information for the patient’s own good? Would it be more humane and beneficial for a grossly deformed fetus to be aborted than to suffer and live a life of unbearable mistery ?

9. UTILITARIANISM Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill Actions are good > promote happiness Actions are bad > produce unhapiness Example: Vehicular accident and comatose patient Principle of greatest happiness An action is good/right insofar as it produces the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

10. Questions a child born with spina bifida occulata , with open spine, grossly deformed limbs and damaged brain. Should we give the child ordinary treatment? Should we give the child special medical assistance? Should we just allow the child to die by giving no treatment at all? Should we put the child to death in a painless way.