Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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b.
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10.Class
a.
a. Naturalism
i. The belief that all people have a tendency to make similar
ethical decisions
1. Most people desire to be happy , experience pleasure, and
avoid pain
2. Sympathy is the motivating factor in moral decision
making
ii. Discussion on naturalism:
1. A toddler wander into a busy intersection with nor parent
in sight.
b. Rationalism
i. Believe feelings or perceptions, though they may seem similar in
many people. May not actually be similar in all people
1. There are universal truths, independent from humans,
that can be known through the process of reasoning
a. i.e. its always good to help those in need
regardless of the circumstances and the grass is
perceived as green but the actual color may differ
ii. Out of these two school of though
1. Utilitarianism
2. Deontology
c. Is ethics a matter of feeling (naturalism) or reason ( rationalism)?
d. Are individuals free to make ethical choices based upon predictable
human nature (naturalism).
e. Utilitarianism
i. Moral philosophy of healthcare delivery
ii. Also called consequentialism
iii. A type of theological theory
iv. Holds that an action is judged as good or bad in relation to the
consequence, outcome, or end result that it is derived from
v. We look at the outcomes and base our decision on whether the
outcome was positive or negative
vi. Websters dictionary a morally good action that helps the
greatest number of people
vii. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was the father of this philosophy
viii. John Stuart Mill
1. The ends justify the means
2. The greatest happiness principle
ix. 2 types
1. Act utilitarianism people choose actions that will
increase the overall good, even if it violated the rights of
some individuals
2. Rule - absolute
x. When is it permissible to sacrifice the rights of one for th greater
good?
f. Deontology
i. A type or rationalism (sense of duty)
1. Belief that rightness or wrongness of an act depends upon
the nature of the act NOT its consequences