The Office of Retention,

Mentoring, & Support

Programs:

Responsible Conduct of

Research (RCR)

Workshop entitled

Ethical Reasoning

October 20, 2005

Presented by

Virginia A. Brown, Program CoordinatorHU, College of Medicine, CH&FPProgram in Health Care Ethics

Develop a practice-

oriented philosophy that

links ethical reasoning

with ethical action(s) in

“real life” situations.

The Prime Directive

Above all else, do no harm!

Terms of Art…

Morality vs. Ethics

Codes of Ethics

Ethical Reasoning

Terms of Art…

Words and their meaning.

online: Oxford English Dictionary http://dictionary.oed.com

Morality

I. Simple uses.      1. Ethical wisdom, knowledge of

moral science. Obs.

online: Oxford English Dictionary http://dictionary.oed.com

Ethics

 II. pl. ethics.     2. (after Gr.) The science of morals;

the department of study concerned with the principles of human duty. 

Ethics and Morality

Ethics and morality are often used interchangeably.

It is useful to distinguish between them. Ethics stems from the Greek word

ethos, meaning character. Morality is from the Latin word mores,

meaning character, custom, or habit.

Ethics

Systematic ethics is the examination of morality, conduct, and social practices.

Responds to questions of “Why should I (or we) do X or Y? What reasons would justify such actions and why”. How ought I conduct myself in this life?

Morality

We now understand morality to mean customary morality, or widely shared beliefs about the moral life and norms about right and wrong conduct that prevail in a particular culture or subculture.

Reich, 1995, p 738-739

Normative Ethics

…”[T]hat pole of ethical theory that stood closet to practice.”¹

Thus the idea is that the task of “…normative ethics is to define and to defend an adequate theory for guiding conduct.²

Post Modernity

Liberal (great sound bites) Conservative (as seen on Fox TV) Consensus (as seen on Oprah and Dr. Laura) Religious Right (Farwell approved)

????!!!!******

Features of Codes Patient Relationships/Employment

Practices Confidentiality Public Disclosure Conflicts of Interest/Relationships/Safety Management Practices Employment Practices/Bounds of

Authority Political Involvement Societal Duty

(HU Academic Code of Conduct, p 20)

HU Academic Responsibilities

All students share the following responsibilities:

A. To read, become familiar with and adhere to the Code, the University’s Code of Ethics and Conduct, the Academic Code of Conduct, the Student Reference Manual, the H-Book, and the relevant academic Bulletin of the School or

College in which the student is enrolled.

continued…

B. To respect the personal and property rights of others and to act in a responsible manner at all times.

C. To protect and foster the intellectual,

academic, cultural, social and other missions of

the University.

D. To observe the laws of local, state and federal governments

Academic Code of Conduct, H Book, p 114

ACADEMIC CODE OF STUDENT CONDUCT

Howard University is a community of scholars composed of faculty and students both of whom must hold the pursuit of learning and search for truth in the highest regard.

Such regard requires adherence to the goal of unquestionable integrity and honesty in the discharge of teaching and learning responsibilities.

continued…

Such regard allows no place for academic dishonesty regardless of any seeming advantage or gain that might accrue from such dishonesty.

To better assure the realization of this goal, any student enrolled for study at the university may be disciplined for the academic infractions defined below.

ACADEMIC POLICIES

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY As part of Howard’s community of scholars, you are

expected to hold the pursuit of learning and the search for truth in the highest regard while displaying unquestionable integrity and honesty.

There is no place for academic dishonesty, regardless of any seeming advantage or gain that may accrue from such dishonesty.

Students will be disciplined for any intentional act(s) of dishonesty in the fulfillment of academic course or program requirements and for intentionally representing as one’s own, any ideas, writings and works of another without acknowledging that author.

(Page 20)

Types of Moral Theories

Consequence-based theories Utilitarianism

Obligation-based theories Kantianism

Rights-based theories Liberal Individualism

Community-based theories Communitarianism

Relationship-based theories Ethics of care

PROBLEM

Ethical Reasoning

The process……

Case Discussion

Process

Criteria

Issues and points of ethical conflict

Interested party / parties

Consequences Duties or Obligations

Applying the criteria

GridIssues or Interested Parties

Points of Conflict

Consequences Obligations

Issues of points of conflict

Describe the nature of the moral conflict

Note: This is the most difficult part of the analysis. Most people find it easier to begin by considering interested parties, consequences, and obligations.

Interested Parties

Requires skills in perspective-talking

Think progressive ordering of people-form the person facing the ethical problem, to the person (s) immediately affected, to employer, to peer, to society in general.

Consider reasonable expectations of the interested part.

Consequences

Each action considered= several possible outcomes

Identify consequences that have a good probability of occurring

May be multifaceted

Obligations

Primary: Obligations of the protagonist toward the various interested parties

Refer to the moral justification in terms of values, principles, character, or outcomes

Summary

Professionals have a particular responsibility to have well developed skills of moral reasoning

So just who are you?

What is the source of your moral center?

What is the source of authority regarding your professional conduct?

How do you justify your professional actions?

Do they the conflict? When they do, what will you

do?

Robert Frost

The Road Not Taken

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Thank You.