Presented by Virginia A. Brown, MA Program Coordinator/Instructor HU, College of Medicine, C&FP Program in Health Care Ethics

PURPOSE Develop a practice-oriented philosophy that links ethical reasoning with ethical action(s) in “real life” situations.

Terms of Art… Morality vs. Ethics Normative Ethics Ethical Reasoning, a process

Problem Ethics and morality are often used interchangeably. Ethics stems from the Greek word ethos, meaning character. Morality is from the Latin word mores, meaning character, custom, or habit.

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

Post Modernity Liberal (great sound bites) Conservative (as seen on Fox TV) Consensus (as seen on Oprah and Dr. Laura) Religious Right (Farwell approved)

H-Book , p 82 Preamble Howard University affirms that the central purpose of a university is the pursuit of i. truth, ii. the discovery of new knowledge through scholarly research, iii. the teaching and overall development of students, and iv. the transmission of knowledge and learning to the world at large.

p 102 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.

p 102 continued…... no place for academic dishonesty.

p 102 Definitions of Academic Infractions “1.Academic cheating-any intentional act(s) of dishonesty in the fulfillment of academic course or program requirements.” “2.Plagiarism-to take and pass off intentionally as one’s own, the ideas, writings, etc., of another, without attribution (without acknowledging the author).”

Ethical Reasoning: A Case Discussion

Interested Parties Think progressive ordering of people- form the person facing the ethical problem, to the person (s) immediately affected, to peer, to employer, (university, department, etc.), to society in general.

Obligations Primary: Obligations of the protagonist toward the various interested parties Refer to the moral justification in terms of values, principles, character, or outcomes

Consequences/Recommendation Each action considered=several possible outcomes Identify consequences that have a good probability of occurring Do not create additional problems

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? Do they conflict? When they do, what will you do?

Robert Frost, The Road Less Traveled The Road Not Taken I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.