Transcript Bioethics PP #1

Bioethics
What IS it??!!
Look at the word itself:
 Bio– Life or living
– Ex.’s
 Biology- the study of life
 Biography- The story of one’s life
 Ethics
– Principles of honor & morality
– Accepted rules of conduct
 ACCEPTED does not mean AGREE with!!
– Moral principles of an individual
Applied to BIOETHICS:
 Ethics seeks to determine what a person
should do, or the best course of action,
and provides reasons why.
 It also helps people decide how to
behave and treat one another, and what
kinds of communities would be good to
live in.
Topic Analysis
 We will look at topics
 Give scientific facts
– Or research
 Topics are then analyzed for persuasive
facts (as you see them)
 Evaluate HOW YOU FEEL about the topic
 Justify your stance with solid, reasonable
facts that are anchored in the research
Differentiating questions
 Questions that are ETHICAL in nature are the
important ones
– Involve opinion
– Open-ended
 NOT scientific:
– “How can a gene be inserted into a plant?”
 OR personal preference
– “what is the most important gene to insert into the
plant?”
 MUST be ethical
– “SHOULD we insert the gene into the plant”
Four important reasons for
Bioethics:
 Advance your scientific understanding
 Prepare you to make informed, thoughtful
choices/decisions
 Promote respectful dialog among people
with diverse views
 Cultivate/promote and apply critical
reasoning skills