Ethics in the Science Classroom
Name:
Ethics Background Reading (Use additional sheets as necessary.)
1. Define ‘ethics’ in your own words, based upon information in the articles.
2. Distinguish between ethics and morals.
3. How can an ethical question be distinguished from a non-ethical one?
4. Briefly summarize the following principles commonly used in biomedical ethics:
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Respect for Persons (including Autonomy)
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Minimize Harms/ Non-maleficence (‘Do no harm’)
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Maximize Benefits/ Beneficence (‘Do good’)
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Justice
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Care (i.e. Relationship-based approaches and/or Feminist ethics)
Over
5. Briefly summarize each of the following theories, and describe a criticism of each.
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Outcome-Based Theories (Consequentialist/Teleological/Utilitarian)
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Duty or Rule-Based Theories (Deontological)
6. How do you go about making ethical decisions? Do you utilize any components of
the theories or principles discussed in the readings? If so, how do you use them?
7. What general science and ethics topic(s) would you like to explore for a case study?
8. What are the main ethical questions that are associated with your case study topic?