PP217 Chapter 1: Unit 1, Lesson 3
Document Summary
Lesson 3: principles of medical ethics, metaphor, and analogy. 3 principles of medical ethics: respect for autonomy. We have already seen this idea in our discussion of kant, specifically the second version of categorical imperative. Note that for a pluralist, autonomy is not absolute, but the burden of moral justification rests on those who would restrict or prevent a person"s exercise of autonomy . In general, autonomy in medical ethics is associated with informed consent: beneficence. Just as respect for autonomy is kantian in tone, the principle of beneficence has clear utilitarian roots. In medicine, it has a history longer than autonomy, since not too long ago doctors were expected to do what they judged was best, regardless of patient"s wishes: justice. Sometimes, philosophers use justice to refer to moral action in general. But the sense in which it is a distinct principle has to do with distribution (something that neither kant nor the utilitarians consider directly)
