Ethical Framework Foundations
This is a decision-making matrix used to guide ethical choices.
What is an ethical framework?
This metaphor explains how obligations arise from being members of society.
What is the social contract?
This 5th century BCE physician is considered the father of Western medicine.
Who is Hippocrates?
This devastating pandemic spread across Europe between 1346–1353.
What is the Black Death?
This 1846 medical advancement made surgeries less painful.
What is surgical anesthesia?
Ethical frameworks help decision-makers avoid treating every choice as this.
What is something novel or unconnected to prior experience?
One of the oldest obligations connected to the social contract.
What is the obligation of care?
Hippocrates believed illness had these kinds of causes rather than supernatural ones.
What are natural causes?
The Black Death was caused by this disease.
What is the bubonic plague?
One risk of early anesthesia was this feared outcome.
What is not waking up from the induced state?
Ethical frameworks are continually changing because of this
What are new experiences and learning?
The obligation of care involves responsibility for those who cannot do this.
What is care for themselves?
According to Hippocratic thought, illness occurs when the body loses this
What is balance?
During the plague, some doctors fled while others did this despite personal risk.
What is stayed to treat the sick?
In the early 19th century, pain was viewed as this important bodily function.
What is a warning system?
Before applying ethical theory, you must first understand this
What is the theory itself?
These two skills help us understand how our obligations apply in new situations.
What are empathy and emotional intelligence?
This oath established professional standards for physicians.
What is the Hippocratic Oath?
This new ethical obligation developed from physicians’ experiences during the plague.
What is the obligation to care for the community?
New medical discoveries continue to challenge our understanding of what is this in practice.
What is “good” practice?
No single ethical theory is perfect, but each offers these helpful tools for decision-making.
What are guidelines and principles?
Care-based ethical decision-making extends beyond medicine into this broader field.
What are human services (or professional life)?
The oath requires physicians to avoid giving patients this, even if requested.
What are lethal drugs?
The plague highlighted the need for sacrifice in pursuit of this broader goal.
What is the health of the community?
Medical ethics may differ among cultures because societies have different values, beliefs, and this.
What are moral priorities or traditions?