PHL281H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Ethics, Moral Reasoning, Conscientious Objector
Document Summary
Moral philosophy as refinement: discipline of moral philosophy is to separate out the disparate claims from one another and to scrutinize each. Reasons: arguments appeal to reasons (considerations in favor of something) It is wrong to operate on a patient without full disclosure of possible consequences- this is just an assertion. Its wrong because i say so: this is a reason, but not very persuasive. Principles: refer to reasons of broad applicability (respect autonomy, don"t harm others, without principles, you can have reasons to justify actions but there will be no consistency between reasons. May just be rationalizing what they want to do: when principles are rooted in interests of particular people= rights. Common principles in bioethics (rough: beneficence: we should do whats good for others, non- maleficence: do no harm, maximize utility: do greatest good for greatest number, autonomy: we should respect people"s decisions, justice: we should treat people fairly.
