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Table of Contents
DCS-T-709-AIES-2025 Main
Link to Lecture Notes
Moral Theories I: Concepts, Principles, and Classical Foundations
Concepts
| Morality | The system through which we determine right and wrong conduct I.e., the guide to good or right conduct |
| Ethics | The philosophical study of Morality |
| Theory | A structured set of statements used to explain a set of facts or concepts. |
| Moral Theory | A theory that explains why a certain action is wrong or why to act in a certain way. It can be used to evaluate specific moral issues. |
Basic Principles
Often, there is a reference to the four basic principles of healthcare when evaluating the merits and difficulties of medical procedures:
| Autonomy | Of thought, intention, and action when making decisions regarding procedures. Therefore, the decision process must be free of coercion or coaxing. Therefore, all risks and benefits, as well as the likelihood of success, must be understood. |
| Justice | Includes four main areas: Fair distribution of scarce resources, competing needs, rights and obligations, and potential conflicts with established legislation. |
| Beneficence | Intent of doing good for those involved. Demands that providers maintain skills and knowledge, continually update training, consider individual circumstances, and strive for net benefit. |
| Non-Maleficence | Do no harm! |
Moral Theories
Moral Relativism
What is morally right or wrong depends on the prevailing view in the society or culture we happen to be dealing with.
Moral Objectivism
What is right or wrong doesn't depend on what anyone thinks is right or wrong. Moral facts exist like “physical facts” independent of what anyone thinks they are. They simply need to be discovered.
Consequentialism
Whether an action is right or wrong depends on the action's consequences. In any situation, the morally right thing to do is whatever will have the best consequences. Sometimes called teleological theories.
It isn't very informative without a combination with a theory about what the best consequences are.
Utilitarianism
- Is a theory of best consequences.
- Put forward by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and improved by John Stuart Mill (1806-1873).
- Most influential variety of consequentialism.
| Basis of Utilitariansim | Ask what has intrinsic value and assess the consequences of an action in terms of intrinsically valuable things |
| Instrumental and Intrinsic Value | Instrumental Value: A thing has only instrumental value if it is only valuable for what it may get you (e.g., money). Intrinsic Value: A thing has intrinsic value if you value it for itself (i.e., you would value it even if it brought you nothing else. |
| What has intrinsic value? |
The most ethical action is the one that produces the greatest overall happiness or well-being for the greatest number of people and minimizes pain or unhappiness for everyone affected by the choice. Outcomes are prioritized over intentions.
Virtue Ethics
Actions according to (traditional) virtues lead to happiness. Most widely discussed is Aristotle's account. He believed humans had a specific function - to lead a life of true flourishing as a human. This requires abiding by the rules of rationality and acting with the traditional virtues.
Deontology
- 'Duty Based' Ethics
- Deny that what ultimately matters is an action's consequences.
- What matters is the kind of action it is - Doing our duty.
- Many kinds of deontological theory.
- The 'Golden Rule' is one of them:
- Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) is the most influential deontologist.
Rejecting consequentialism:
“A good will is good not because of what it effects or accomplishes.” Even if, by bad luck, a good person never accomplishes anything much, the good will would “like a jewel, still shine by its own light as something which has its full value in itself.”
The Categorical Imperative
- Influential in arguments for human rights.
- Informed consent
- Value the autonomy of individuals.
Problems
| Deontology | What if doing your duty has repugnant consequences? |
| Consequentialism | What if you have to do something that seems wrong to produce the best consequences? |