Transcript www.gs.howard.edu

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 Coordinator
HU, College of Medicine, CH&FP
Program in Health Care Ethics
Develop a practiceoriented 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
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Codes of Ethics

Ethical Reasoning
Terms of Art…
Words and their meaning.
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.
online: Oxford English Dictionary
http://dictionary.oed.com
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.
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
Reich, 1995, p 738-739
Post Modernity
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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 Responsibilities
 All students share the following responsibilities:
 A. To read, become familiar with and adhere to
the
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
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.
(HU Academic Code of Conduct, p 20)
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
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.
Academic Code of Conduct, H Book, p
114
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
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Issues and points of
ethical conflict
Interested party /
parties
Consequences
Duties or Obligations
Applying the criteria
Grid
Issues or
Points of Conflict
Consequences
Interested Parties
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
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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
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Each action
considered= several
possible outcomes
Identify
consequences that
have a good
probability of
occurring
May be multifaceted
Obligations
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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?
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Do they the conflict?
When they do, what will you
do?
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The Road Not Taken
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I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
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Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I
took the one less traveled by, And that has
made all the difference.
Robert Frost
Thank You.