BIOETHICS

ETHICAL SCHOOLS
OF THOUGHT
 KANT’S ETHICS
 Immanuel Kant (1724-1804)
 “Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals”
 DEONTOLOGICAL (duty-oriented) THEORIES
 Maintains that one acts morally if & only if one
does whatever one is obliged to do; what makes it
moral is its being done out of duty (what one
ought to do)
 The basic rightness or wrongness of an act depends
upon its intrinsic nature rather than upon the
situation or the consequences
 Act done in accord with duty & act done from a
sense of duty
Categorical imperative – an obligation that must be
performed irrespective of the results, at all times &
in all places; an action without any conditions
whatsoever, & without regard to consequences that
such an action may yield
Formulations of the categorical imperative:
1. Universal application. “Act only on the maxim
w/c you can at the same time will to become a
universal law.”
2. Unconditionally. “Always act as to treat
humanity, either yourself or others, as an end &
never only as a means.”
3. Demanding an action. “We must always treat
others as ends & not as means only.”
ROSS’ ETHICS
 William David Ross
 “The Right and the Good”
 Right and good are distinct, indefinable &
irreducible objective qualities
 Rightness – belongs to acts, independent of
motives; right acts
 Goodness – belongs to motives; good motives

“The doing of a right act can be the result of a

morally bad motive or inversely, the doing of a
wrong act can originate from a good motive.”
Two kinds of duties:
1. Actual duty – one’s real duty in a given
situation; the action one ought to choose from
among many other actions
2. Prima facie duty – one that directs or
commands what one ought to perform when
other relevant factors are not taken into account
Two principles to resolve case of conflicting duties:
Act in accordance w/ the stronger, more stringent
or more severe prima facie duty
Act in accordance w/ the prima facie duty w/c
has a greater balance of rightness over wrongness
 SEVEN TYPES OF PRIMA FACIE DUTIES
• Duty of Fidelity
• Duty of Reparation – act of making amends,
righting the wrong we have done to others
• Duty of Gratitude – appreciate, recognize
services others have done for us
• Duty of Justice
• Duty of Beneficence
• Duty of Self-Improvement – develop &
improve self (virtue, intelligence, happiness)
• Duty of Non-maleficence
RAWLS’ THEORY
 John Rawls
“A Theory of Justice” (1971)
 a synthesis of utilitarianism &
deontological views
 concept of social justice; recognize duties to
self & others
• TWO-FOLD PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE

1. Equal access to the basic human rights &

liberties; equal rights & liberties to every citizen
of social goods

2. Fair equality of opportunity & the equal

distribution of socio-economic inequalities;
deals more with the distribution of social goods
and/or medical resources than with liberty
 ST. THOMAS AQUINAS’ ETHICS
• St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
• Thomistic ethics, Scholastic ethics, Christian ethics,
Natural Law ethics
• claims that there exists a natural moral law which
is manifested by the natural light of human
reason, demanding the preservation of the natural
order & forbidding its violation
• Accdg to Aquinas, the source of moral law is
reason itself (Do good, avoid evil) ; directed towards
the good as the goal of our action, & that good is
discoverable within our nature
• Moral principle. “The good must be done, and
evil avoided.”
• Voice of reason or voice of conscience serves as
the natural guide in making moral decisions
• Synderesis- natural capacity to determine what is
right from what is wrong

THREE NATURAL INCLINATIONS OF

HUMAN NATURE
1. Self preservation
2. Just dealing with others
3. Propagation of our species
• THREE DETERMINANTS OF MORAL ACTION
1. the Object – that which the will intends directly
& primarily; may either be a thing or an action
2. the Circumstances – are conditions which, when
superadded to the nature of the moral act, will
affect its morality (refer to 7 circumstances)
3. the End or Purpose – motive affects the
goodness or badness of an action or decision

*For a given act to be truly morally good, it must be

good in all its three elements. A defect in any of
these 3 determinants will make an act morally
wrong.
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES by St. Thomas
Aquinas:

- Who
- What
- Where
- By what means
- Why
- How
- When
• The Double Effect Principle
- applies to a situation in which a good effect & an evil
effect will result from good cause; under certain
conditions, some evil effect-voluntary in cause-may
be permitted to occur.

4 Conditions:
1. The action directly intended must be good in itself,
or at least morally indifferent.
2. The good effect must follow from the action at least
as immediately as the evil effect; or the evil effect
may follow from the good effect. (the good & bad must
occur simultaneously)
3. The foreseen evil effect may not be intended or
approved, but merely permitted to occur. If t is
directly intended, then it becomes the direct &
primary object of the action or decision, and hence
it is evil.
4. There must be proportionate & sufficient reason
for allowing the evil effect to occur while
performing an action.
• The Principle of Totality
“The whole is more important than the sum of its
parts.”
- An individual has the right to cut-off, mutilate, or
remove any defective or worn-out non-
functioning part of his body “only in so far as the
general well-being of the whole body requires it”

• The Principle of Stewardship

- Humans are only stewards or caretakers, with the
responsibility of protecting & cultivating spiritual
& bodily functions. We are obliged to take good
care of ourselves, to maintain a sound mind &
body, and to safeguard our dignity.
• The Principle of the Inviolability of Life
- states that life is, God’s & has been loaned to us;
hence, it is inviolable & sacred. It is only God who
has complete control & dominion over life; our
duty is to take care of it until God takes it back
from us.

• The Principle of Sexuality & Procreation

- underscores a two-fold purpose of sexual union:
1. The procreation & nurturing of children
2. The expression of loving union & companionship
* Both must be achieved only within the conjugal
bond.
• ETHICAL RELATIVISM
- Also known as moral relativism; this ethical
doctrine claims that there are no universal or
absolute moral principles.
- Standards of right & wrong are always relative to
a particular culture or society
• SITUATION ETHICS
- Advocated by Joseph Fletcher; three approaches to
morality: legalism, antinomianism, &
situationism.
1. Legalism –prescribes certain general moral
prescriptions, laws, or norms by which to judge,
determine & settle rightness & wrongness of
human judgments & decisions.
2. Antinomianism – frees the Christian from the
obligations of the moral law in which case there are
no absolute precepts or moral principles by w/c to
be guided in making decisions. It is considered as
too liberal & an unconventional approach that may
lead to anarchy & moral chaos.

3. Situationism – states that the moral norm depends

upon a given situation, but whatever this situation
may be, one must always act in the name of
Christian love.
- A situation refers to a human condition or any state
of moral affairs & issues that demands a moral
judgment or action.
• CHRISTIAN LOVE – three types of love

1. EROS – erotic love; means sexual love; normally

refers to heterosexual relationships
2. PHILIA – filial love; refers to affection that binds
a parent to his/her child, a brother to a sister and
vise-versa or between siblings
3. AGAPE – agapeic love; refers to one’s care and
concern and kindness towards others. Love for
one’s neighbors in the biblical sense.
Characterized by charity, respect, and
responsibility towards the other.