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Problemset
Title
Introductory
Text
Essay Questions
Question 1
Discuss the virtue of care. What could be a problem if medical ethics shifts
away from an ethic of morally right action to a virtue ethic of care?
Hint:
Read the document "The Ethics of Care: Social Workers in an
Influenza Pandemic."
Type:
Essay
Feedback: Care refers to the virtue involving a persistent disposition to be
concerned about others, related to but sometimes distinguished
from the virtues of benevolence, love, compassion, faithfulness,
humaneness, and tenderness. Care is also sometimes used as a
synonym for a cluster of virtues or even for virtue theory itself.
It is also sometimes considered an "orientation" to others, one
that focuses on the relationship between persons. Sometimes it
is not clear whether a concept such as care refers to a particular
virtue, a package of virtues, or some other element of ethics.
This can become a problem if medical ethics shifts away from
an ethic of morally right action to a virtue ethic of care.
See "Virtue Lists."
Question 2
Type:
Essay
What is the wrong virtue problem?
Hint:
Read the document "Foundations Of Clinical Ethics:
Disengaged Rationalism And Internal Goods."
Feedback: One of the problems that arises in virtue theory is deciding
whether one has chosen the right virtues for one's list. Choosing
the wrong virtues will encourage the wrong corresponding
behavior. For example, if one has concluded that respect for
persons involves a cluster of ethical principles that should take
precedence over beneficence, then touting the virtue of
benevolence risks promoting the wrong behavior. It would
encourage acting to benefit the patient even if respecting their
autonomy is morally more important. If one is not enthusiastic
about teaching "cunning," then it will not do to include that
disposition on one's virtue list. The wrong virtue problem is
concerned with selecting the right traits of character for one's
list.
See "Problems with the Virtues."
Question 3
Promoting a disposition toward a certain kind of conduct may not always
be the best way to encourage it. Discuss.
Hint:
Type:
Essay
Feedback: While it might seem plausible that promoting a disposition
toward a certain kind of conduct would be the best way to
encourage it, that may not always be the case. In the worst case,
leading people to think of themselves as virtuous could
generate the kind of moral self-confidence that leads people to
act without more careful reflection, consultation, and controls.
Some health professionals have been known to belittle
consultation with committees on matters of ethics, feeling that
they are morally devoted to their patients and therefore capable
to doing what is right without the benefit of more
institutionalized consultation in moral decision making. It is
even possible in some cases that promoting virtue could lower
the chance of the morally right conduct (when compared with
carefully worked out standards for peer review, cautious
reflection, and expectation of mechanisms for enforcing proper
standards).
See "Problems with the Virtues."