ETHICS
Human Existence and Ethics
Ethics
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is the moral code that guides how an individual should behave.
as a branch of knowledge, it deals with moral principles and individual’s search for
meaning while dealing with human problems.
Human beings are logical beings but human existence is inexplicable.
At the moment a person is born, he or she begins to suffer and will continue to suffer
until death (Timbreza, 1993)
SCHOOL of ETHICS
 ethics deals with a diverse prescription of universal concepts and principles that
serve as foundation of moral beliefs.
 “Morality can be viewed in different perspectives-as-law, as an inner conviction, as
love, as personal growth, and as social transformation.”
Nuances between ethics and morality by James Gustafson (1974)
ETHICS
Theoretical prescriptions or critiques
MORALITY
Based on principles practiced by a particular
community
•The nature of the good
•Fundamental convictions of human agent
•The nature of human person
•Character of moral agent
•Criteria of judgement
•Use of norms
•Situational analysis
1. ETHICAL RELATIVISM
aka moral relativism, is a school of ethics anchored on the principle that morality is
relative to the norms of a particular culture.
 It acknowledges societal diversity, that every society has unique design and culture;
and people’s beliefs are greatly influenced by culture.
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2. ETHICAL PRAGMATISM
 Pragmatism is a philosophical approach or movement began in the 1980s, term was
coined by Charles Sanders Peirce and further developed by William James.
 Considered as Amerca’s most distinctive and major contribution to the field of
philosophy.
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It is more of a theory on knowledge, truth, and meaning rather than morality.
3. ETHICAL UTILITARIANISM
 founded by English Philisophers, Jeremy Betham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill
(1806-1873)
 this school of ethics states that the rightness or wrongness of actions is determined
by their consequences
 the principle of utility formulated by Mill states, “actions are good insofar as they
tend to promote happiness, bad as they tend to produce unhappiness. The utility or
usefulness of an action is determined by the extent to which it promotes happiness
rather than its reverse.”
MORAL ISSUE
Diversity, decision making, compliance, and governance are some of the concerns that
need to be considered when doing an ethical review in the context of the health care
profession.
ABORTION
 considered illegal in the Philippines.
 can be direct, induced, or even caused by natural cases or accidents
 Article II, Section 12 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that: The state
recognizes the sanctity of life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic
autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the
life of the unborn from conception.
EUTHANASIA (Mercy Killing)
 is a practice of ending a life intentionally, usually in situations when the individual
is terminally ill, to relieve him or her of pain and suffering.
 euthanasia is regarded as a merciful release of an individual from an incurable
sickness.
Herbert Hendin (2004)
 describes euthanasia as the process of inducing the painless death of a person who is
severely debilitated for reasons assumed to be merciful, either through voluntary,
non-voluntary, or involuntary means.
 Voluntary euthanasia
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is when an individual gives consent to subject himself or herself to a painless
death.
 Involuntary euthanasia
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is when the individual does not give his or her consent.
 Nonvoluntary euthanasia
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is conducted when the permission of the patient to perform the process is
unavailable, like in the case of patient in a deep comatose, or neonates born with
significant and major birth defect.
GENETIC ENGINEERING
 is a controversial ethical issue because it involves genetic manipulations that are
perceived to be against moral standards set by the society
 Genetic Screening
is a procedure whose main purpose is to screen, choose, and select the genes for proper
detection of any genetic disease and other chromosomal malformations (Ciabal, 2003)
 Genetic Interventions
are techniques such as genetic control, therapy and surgery
 Stem-cell therapy
is a form of genetic engineering that makes use of stem cells to treat or prevent disease.
 In vitro fertilization (IVF)
is a popularly known as laboratory fertilization, it perceives the natural process of
fertilization.
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
 ethics covers the philosophy of doing what is right.
 professional ethics covers the morally accepted behavior of individuals in the
workplace.
 the code of ethics of a particular profession serves as the guiding principle in the
ethical practice of a profession.
CODE OF ETHICS