Saint Paul University Philippines

3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

BIOETHICS

MORAL PHILOSOPHY AND BIOETHICS

Human existence is an incomprehensible contradiction. The individual is born without his

knowledge and usually dies against his/her will. At the very moment one is born, one begins to
suffer and will continue to suffer until one dies. Indeed, to have been born human is a tragic
fate and one feels the apparent absurdity of one’s existence. Every individual realizes that life is
a disturbing question rather than an answer itself. Life poses a big problem, a question that
demands a corresponding answer. In view of his existential oddity, one cannot but search for
the ultimate meaning of life. This ceaseless, intellectual quest for the existential import of life is
known as philosophy. If only for this reason, philosophy is inevitable, for as long human beings
exits, so long they will philosophize and search for meaning.

The individual’s intellectual search for meaning assumes many forms, inasmuch as there are so
many kinds of human problems. They may be logical, ethical, epistemological, theological,
cosmological, aesthetical, or scientific. Our main concern at this point is the individual’s ethical
search for meaning, which is generally known as ethics or moral philosophy.

MORAL PHILOSOPHY
Ethics is a practical and normative science, based on reason which studies human acts and
provides norms for their goodness or badness. It is likewise known as moral philosophy, insofar
as it deals with morality, moral rectitude or the rightness and wrongness of human acts. As a
practical science, ethics deals with a systematized body of knowledge that can be used,
practiced, and applied to human action. It considers the usefulness, practicality and application
of human knowledge to one’s experience, as distinguished from theoretical knowledge, which
is simply interested in truth for its own sake, without any bearing on action and experience. As
a normative science, ethics establishes norms or standards for the direction and regulation of
human actions. How can one determines whether one is acting rightly or wrongly? Is there a
norm of good and evil? Ethics attempts to resolve these questions.

Ethics deals only with human acts insofar as they are performed with intellectual deliberation
and freedom. Personal responsibility presupposes knowledge and freedom. This explains why
the acts of irrational animals and insane are devoid of moral significance; they are amoral
beings performing nonmoral acts. Let us pursue this point further: Is one to be held morally
responsible for all of one’s acts? This leads to distinction between human acts and acts of man.
The former are those which are done with knowledge and full consent of the will. One knows
what one is doing and one does it freely and willingly. The latter refers to those which are
performed in the absence of either or both of the two conditions (of a human act).

Related to this matter is the problem of ignorance. Should a person be held morally responsible
for an act performed in ignorance? Ignorance is understood as the absence of knowledge in an
individual who is supposed to know it. It may either vincible or invincible ignorance. The former
is one which can be overcome by exerting some effort, unlike the later which can be hardly be
removed even if one were to exert extra effort to overcome it.

TYPES OF ETHICS
Is there a measure by which to determine good and evil acts? The answers to these questions
have been in abundance and they constitute the various ethical schools of thought formulated
by human beings. Attempts to resolve ethical questions have led to the construction of certain
1

general and universal precepts as the basis of good and evil, and efforts to apply the same
Page

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203

 Saint Paul University Philippines
3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

general principles to the resolution of particular moral problems have resulted in the
development of an array of applied ethics.

Traditionally, therefore, ethics may be divided into general and applied. General ethics refers to
all the diverse ethical formulations of general and universal concepts and principles which serve
as the foundation fo morality. It raises the problem of moral norms and attempts to formulate
and defend a system of fundamental ethical perceptions that settle which acts are good and
which are evil. Foe every moral theory, these ethical principles are presumed to be valid for
everyone. Consequently, inasmuch as general ethics deals with the issue of the norm of
morality, it is sometimes called normative ethical inquiry, which is distinguished from a
nonnormative ethical.

The normative attempts to disclose the underlying moral norm by which people act, judge, and
decide on certain ethical matters. This individual wants to know about any moral standard, if
any, that makes people behave the way they do. What is the code of behavior that underlies
their beliefs and practices? This is the significant question or the normative moralist.
Applied ethics does not only apply to general moral concepts and principles, but also specifies
the particular situations in life in which they are valid and legitimate; hence it is also known as
special ethics. In an attempt to resolve specific moral problems, general ethical precepts are
applied.

BIOETHICS AND APPLIED ETHICS

Bioethics came from the Greek word bios means “ethics of life”. Broadly considered, it is the
ethics of medical care, though it is not the same as medical ethics which is primarily geared to
the morally legitimate practice of the medical profession. Strictly speaking, however, bioethics
is the branch of applied ethics which investigates practices and developments in the life
sciences and biomedical fields.

It is, in other words, an applied study of ethical issued and values not only in medicine and
biology but also in the behavioral sciences. The primary and major predicaments with which
bioethics as an applied ethics deals are those concerning life, health, and death that have
resulted from modern biological technology, particularly the way they have affected human
values. The “bio” part of bioethics leads to examine new findings and data from the physical
and natural sciences.

EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF BIOETHICAL STUDIES

1. MEDICAL ETHICS- Known as the oldest phase of bioethical exploration is medical ethics
which is a formulation of ethical norms for the conduct of health care professionals in
the treatment of patients. The physician-patient relationship is no different from other
human relationships in which duties and rights are involved.
HYPPOCRATIC OATH- The oldest medical ethics formulations namaed after Hippocrates. It
underscores the physician’s all-out concern for the patient to be kept from harm and injustice.
The physician shold not prescribe a fatal drug to anyone even if asked to so; nor should the
physician suggest that fatal drugs be taken. The oath rules our any form of abortifacient and
sexual relations between doctors and patients, be they male or female, rich or poor, free or
slaves. Likewise enshrined in the pledge is the moral significance of confidentiality, otherwise
known as medical secrecy. Fulfillment of the oath is believed to bring about an honor, fame,
and joy in medical practice; while its transgression brings about dishonor and infamy among all
for every generation to come.
2
Page

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203

 Saint Paul University Philippines
3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

2. RESEARCH ETHICS- this refers to the use of humans as experimental specimens, e.g.
prisoners, poor patients, etc.

3. PUBLIC POLICY- it accentuates the participatory aspect of decision-making in a

democratic setup with regard to the foundation of public policies for the benefit of all.
This refers to the peoples’ efforts or involvement in formulating public guidelines for
both clinical cases and biomedical research.

DOMINANT THEMES IN BIOETHICAL INQUIRY

1. Principle of Beneficence- beneficence is the practice of goodness, kindness, and charity.
The beneficence principle may be stated: “Do no harm and produce the good! Or Do
good and do no harm.” It prescribes the voidance and prevention of harm and the
production of good. As much as possible, health professionals should take care not to
compound or aggravate the ill patient’s condition by causing further injury. Health
professionals are enjoined not only to avoid what is harmful, but to do whatever is good
for the patient.

2. Principle of Autonomy- this principle marks the significance of individual autonomy

which mandates a strong sense of personal responsibility for one’s own life. Every
person is autonomous, in which case one should choose what one wishes to be and
should take his/her moral decision ought to make that decision. Thus, this principle
underscores individual freedom, giving centrality in cases of moral uncertainty. One’s
conscience is the last arbiter of moral decisions.
This principle is labeled as the right to self-determination by some authors,
giving emphasis to the moral right of an individual to determine what is good for the self
and for others. One should make decisions by and for oneself. The right to self-
determination is the central element in the relatively recent emphasis on patient’s
rights.

3. Principle of Justice- Justice basically means the rendering of what is due to or merited.
In a physician-patient relationship, therefore, justice is done an when the physician
performs his/her duty as such to this patient; otherwise, injustice is committed insofar
as the patient’s right to be attended to is not respected or recognized; the patient is not
given what one deserves as a patient; what is due to the patient is not rendered by the
physician.
The principle of justice that interests the bioethician, however, is the equal
distribution of harm and benefits, of burdens and comforts, of goods and services
among those who need them. It refers to a principle of equity which prescribes fairness
and impartiality regarding equal access to health care and the allocation of scarce
medical resources between two individuals or to a group of persons who are in dire
need of treatment.
COMPARATIVE JUSTICE- in which what individual or a group receives is
determined by balancing the competing claims of other individuals or groups. In other
words, what a patient receives is determined by the gravity of the condition or need.
NONCOMPARATIVE JUSTICE- in which the distribution of medical goods or
resources is determined by a certain standard rather than by the needs or claims of
individuals. In other words, in noncomparative justice, medical treatment is determined
by principle, not by need.

ETHICAL SYSTEMS
3
Page

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203

 Saint Paul University Philippines
3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

Bioethics is an applied medical study dealing with moral problems that demand
deliberate decisions. Moral judgments or decisions made are justified accordingly by moral
rules, which in turn are grounded in ethical principles and ultimately in ethical theories.
While it is true that there are many medical oaths and codes by which one may justify his moral
judgments over certain bioethical issues, the same oaths and codes are too broad and not self-
justifying. Sometimes they are opposed to each other, and tiles expressed in a code may
conflict with other moral precepts; several oaths and codes sometimes contain provisions that
are not moral principles at all.

CRITERIA:
a. The implication of an ethical theory must be reconcilable with our experience of moral life.
b. Must provide effective guidance where it is most needed, that is, in those situations where
substantive moral considerations can be advanced on both sides of an issue.

A. TELEOLOGICAL THEORIES (CONSEQUENCE –ORIENTED THEORY)

 taken from the Greek word “telos” means “end”.
 good is based from outcomes or predicted outcomes
 An ethical system which holds that the right action is one that maximizes some
good. One cannot know what is right without an examination of the
consequences.
 “The right thing to do is the good thing to do.”

Examples of intrinsically good acts: prevention, elimination or control of diseases, relief from
unnecessary pain and suffering, and prolongation of life

1. UTILITARIANISM – BY JEREMY BENTHAM AND JOHN STUART MILL.

 Good resides in the promotion of the happiness or the greatest net increase of pleasure
over pain.
 Advocates the idea that human happiness as the measure of goodness. It maintains that
man should act in order to produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of
people.
 Doctrine that utility is the sole standard of moral conduct.

Jeremy Bentham

 Nature demands man to be moral. And by nature, man is governed by two sovereign
masters, pain and pleasure. The greatest good lies in man’s pursuit to happiness and
pleasure while evil lies in the avoidance of pain.
 focuses on the quantitative value of pleasure. He emphasizes on PLEASURE as principle of
morality
 “the greatest happiness to the greatest number of people.”
 offered seven categories, seven attendant questions as methods for determining level of
utility.
Seven attendant questions as methods for determining level of utility.
1. Intensity – How intense is the pleasure?
2. Duration
3. Certainty – How certain are you that the pleasure will occur?
4. Proximity – How soon will the pleasure be experienced?
4

5. Fecundity – How many more pleasures will happen as a result of this one?
Page

6. Purity – How free from pain is the pleasure?

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203

 Saint Paul University Philippines
3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

7. Extent – How many will experience the pleasure?

John Stuart Mill

 Happiness is a set of higher order pleasure such as intellectual, aesthetic and social
enjoyment rather than mere sensual pleasure.
 Gives emphasis on the qualitative value of pleasure, hence HAPPINESS, the principle of
morality and the source of moral obligation.
 “The greatest happiness to the greatest degree”, regardless of the recipient of the
consequences.

Act-Utilitarianism
Decision is based on listing the possible alternatives for action, weighing each in regard to the
amount of pleasure or utility it provides and selecting the course of action that maximizes
pleasure.
 The ethical demand requires that man should act so as to produce the greatest happiness to
the greatest number of people.
 The doctrine that skips any reference to principles and rules and judges the right action be
the one that brings the greatest happiness to the greatest number.

Critique: Somewhat Hedonistic – one group derives pleasure from the pain of others and
justifies its action on the basis of utility. Hedonism is a doctrine that the chief good of
humans lies in the pursuit of pleasure and in the avoidance of personal pain.
Answer: Principle of Equal Consideration of Interest – “One ought to act so as to produce the
greatest balance of happiness over unhappiness, everyone considered. An individual is not
allowed to increase his share of happiness at the expense of others, each person’s happiness
must be considered equally.
Problem: One must predict and calculate the various levels of happiness promoted by each
choice. It is a problem of exact quantification, a requirement in act-utilitarianism.
Solution: Rule-Utilitarianism – A doctrine that certain rules have been found to have a high
utility, that is, have brought about the greatest happiness for the greatest number. The rule-
utilitarian justifies actions by appealing to universal rules such as “Thou shall not kill,” which
are justified by the principle of utility.

AN ACTION CAN BE DEEMED TO BE RIGHT IF IT CONFORMS TO A RULE THAT HAS BEEN

VALIDATED BY THE:

1. Principle of Utility- A principle that holds that the right action is the one leading to
satisfaction of those desires that the individual prefers to have satisfied. It requires that the rule
brings about positive results when generalized to a wide variety of situations.
2. Hedonism – only pleasure, regardless whether the pleasure is mental or physical, but mostly
sensual is the only good as end.
3. Perfectionism – or self-realizationism – good is the full development of the self.
4. Egoism – promotion of the good or the best interest of one performing the act.
5. Pragmatism- A valuable act is one that brings most successfully the end result or the
consequences.
6. Situation Ethics – morality of an action depends on the situation where and when it is being
5

performed. What is good in one situation may not be good in another.

Page

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203

 Saint Paul University Philippines
3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

Joseph Fletcher
Good is agape, which can be defined as general goodwill or love or humanity. Human need
determines what is or is not ethical. If an act helps people, it is a good act; if it hurts, it is a bad
act.
Guidelines for making ethical choices:
 Compassion for people as human beings
 Consideration of consequences
 Proportionate good
 Priority of actual needs over ideal or potential needs
 A desire to enlarge choice and reduce chance
 A courageous acceptance of the need to make decisions and the equally courageous
acceptance of the consequences of our decisions.
 No appeal to an absolute principle, no authority that one can rely on; the only possible
test of rival solutions lies in the consequences.

CONSEQUENCE-ORIENTED REASONING

1. DESCRIBE PROBLEM
2. LIST SOLUTIONS
3. COMPARE SOLUTIONS WITH UTILITY

B. DEONTOLOGICAL (duty-oriented theories)

An ethical system that holds that the right action is one that is based on ethical principles
known to be right, independent of the consequences whether they serve good ends.
 matter of duty -is ought to be done regardless of the consequences
 prohibited by duty – ought not to be done regardless of the consequences.
 “The good thing to do is the right thing to do.”
Kantian Ethics:
 Morality is derived from rationality not from experience.
 Obligation is grounded in pure reason not in circumstances and nature of man.
 Man as rational animal is capable of grasping universal principles/truth, applied to all people
from all times in all situations which are derive from reason.

An action is right if it is in accordance with:

CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE – categorical because it does not admit exceptions, imperative
because it is a command derive from a principle. “One is obligated to act a principle that is
binding for all people, in all situations, at all times.
 Elements:
 Universal application
 Unconditionality
 Demanding an action
 Maxims: verbal expressions of a moral agent’s reason for acting
 motives of the action

PRINCIPLE OF UNIVERSALITY
 “Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should
become a universal law.”
6

PRINCIPLE OF HUMANITY
Page

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203

 Saint Paul University Philippines
3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

 “Act in such a way that you treat humanity whether in your person on in the person of
another, always at the same as an end and never merely as a means.”

John Rawls
 Principle of Social Contract – It aims to secure basic liberties for all individuals within the
covenant. If reasoning individual were placed in a social situation requiring a value
choice without knowing what role he was playing in the situation, the individual would
choose the alternative that supported or favored the most disadvantaged person. It is a
restatement of the golden rule.

C. VIRTUE ETHICS (proponent: Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics)

 focuses on the heart of the moral agent in making decisions rather than the reasoning to
a right action.
 aretaic ethics (from the Greek word arete, which can be translated as either excellence
or virtue.)
 According to the theory, an individual by living well and practicing virtues could develop
the habit of being virtuous. Such an individual, when confronted by ethical dilemma,
would act according to his heart and choose well.
 Place its focus on the roots of characteristics, traits, or virtues that a good person should
have. Some who has appropriate moral virtues such as courage, temperance, wisdom
and justice will naturally act in certain ways.
 Virtue ethics holds that it is not only important to do the right disposition, motivation,
and traits for being good and doing right.
 It is primarily about personal character and moral habit rather than particular action.

D. DIVINE COMMAND ETHICS

The ethical theory that something can be known to be right and good when it is in
compliance with God’s will and wrong or bad when God condemns it. The basic idea of this
theory is that there is a divine or exemplary being that has set down a finite series of rules
that can provide guidance for most, if not all, moral decisions. Example pf such rules: Ten
Commandments, eightfold path, four noble truths.

REQUIREMENTS:
Using the SEE-JUDGE-ACT method, make a research on the following contemporary related-
issues in bioethics. SEE (analysis), JUDGE (criticism), ACT (action)

1. RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMANS AND ANIMALS

Past abuses of Human/Animal Research Subjects
Codes and Guidelines for Human/Animal Research
Current Ethical Issues in Human/Animal Research
Shyne Marie Canlas
Glenna Mae Dumlao
Keizel Anne Sabug

2. EUGENICS AND HUMAN GENETICS

7

Genetics and the Society

Page

Genetic Testing and Screening

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203

 Saint Paul University Philippines
3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

Human Gene Transfer Research

Genetics and Behavior
Jana Angelica Flores
John Matthew Alano
Raguelle Perdido

3. REPRODUCTION
Assisted Reproduction and Reprogenetics
The Problem of Justifying abortion
Legal Issues Surrounding Abortion
Warjiman
Theresia Ivana
Ahmad Syahlani

4. DEATH AND DYING

Legislation of Assisted Death and Dying
Moral Arguments about the Law
Moral Issues about physician-assisted death
Palliation and other alternatives to physician-assisted death
Jocelyn Guzman
Carla Lappay
Greishan Tumabao

5. ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION
The definition of death and the retrieval of organs
Justice in the Allocation of Organs
Living Donors
Innovative Policies for Organ Procurement
Jesus Tattao
Abigal Tamayao
Frankie Caronan

6. JUSTICE AND HEALTH

Social Justice, Health Policy and Public Health
Just Health care and the Right to health care
Priority setting in health care and public health
Donald Palama
Richelle Padilla
Tonesa Clarice Mallillin

7. PUBLIC HEALTH
Foundations of Public health Ethics
Management of communicable Diseases
Emergency preparedness
8

Francis Villanuea
Page

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203

 Saint Paul University Philippines
3500 Tuguegarao City, Cagayan North

Vicant-Pearl Pagurigan
Judeline de Luna

8. BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOSCIENCE

Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Ethics and Genetically Modified Organisms
Ethics and Enhancement
Ethics and Bioscience
Randy Mark Padua
Esther Shiela Marie Gorospe
Krishan M . Soriano

9. BODY MODIFICATION- Deliberate altering of the human body for non-medical reasons
Human enhancement -Overcoming the limitations of body by artificial means
Life extension -Attempts to either slow down or reverse the processes of aging to maximize
life span
Yvette Collado
Lace Ouano

9
Page

BIOETHICS AND BUSINESS ETHICS, Laverne c. Tarubal, MPM lavernetarubal_sem@yahoo.com/09163195203