"Applied Ethics"

Written by Ben Burka/Alan Paul

What is Applied Ethics?

Applied ethics is the art or science of reflecting on moral dilemmas and moral problems in different social contexts.

One of the most influential philosophers in the field of applied ethics, James Childress, defines applied ethics as follows: The terms "applied ethics" and "practical ethics" are used interchangeably to indicate the application of ethics to special arenas of human activity, such as business, politics, and medicine, and to problems, such as abortions.

Origin of Applied Ethics

First Theory: The origin of applied ethics coincided with the origin of modernity when state and religion separated and secularisation happened throughout Europe. Thus, the monopoly of religion over morality ended. This created a void of moral authority and individuals themselves had to formulate answers. In the words of sociologist Max Weber, "moral heteronomy", whereby moral answers were provided by an authority, often the church, became "moral autonomy". This development took place at a time when, in medicine and in other social arenas, new and difficult moral problems were arising: should limits be applied to pre-natal diagnostics? Should euthanasia be permitted?

Second Theory:   A second, complementary explanation of the development of applied ethics relates to new moral problems facing society because of new technologies. For example, in neonatal intensive care, the lives of extremely premature infants could be saved. However, in many cases, the babies were saved only to live short and handicapped lives. Where should the doctor set the limits of treatment?

Rise applied ethics can be explained by a need to fill policy vacuums.

Developments in the social sciences and the humanities often mirror social change. At the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, the student movement and the New Left challenged established society. Heated discussions took place on topics such as the Vietnam War, social injustices, poverty in the Third World, gender inequality, and the maltreatment of animals. Many philosophers were engaged in these discussions. From this perspective, the development of applied ethics can be seen as a philosophical response to a new social environment.

Applied ethics also has roots in theological ethics. As classical examples, one can mention the theories of a just war of St. Augustine (5th century) and Thomas Aquinas. (13th century) The conditions these theories set for a war to be judged just, namely, that the war must be fought with the right intentions, waged by a legitimate authority and aimed at redressing a wrong suffered, are still highly relevant in the present discussion on just war.

The turn to applied ethics took place in the 1970s and 1980s. The turn involved many philosophers changing their focus. Moral philosophers were traditionally engaged in analyzing moral semantics and other issues in meta-ethics. Now, more and more philosophers worked with moral problems in society.

(Metaethics is the study of moral thought and moral language. Rather than addressing questions about what practices are right and wrong, and what our obligations to other people or future generations are – questions of so-called ‘normative’ ethics – metaethics asks what morality is)

Important Writings of 1970s

The first book is John Rawls's A Theory of Justice, published in 1971. A Theory of Justice is a comprehensive and theoretical investigation of the meaning and justification of justice. Partly in opposition to utilitarianism, Rawls argues for a neo-Kantian contract theory and ends up with two principles of justice that incorporate the meaning of justice. Furthermore, Rawls develops a method of justification of moral beliefs called "reflective equilibrium", which is still the most influential in the field.

In Practical Ethics published in 1979, Singer discusses several topical moral issues from a utilitarian perspective. Among the issues discussed are war, poverty, abortion, euthanasia, the treatment of animals, etc. Singer argues in a compelling way, and he does not hesitate to draw radical and often also counterintuitive conclusions. Singer's critique of the principle of human dignity led to heated controversies, and he was, for some years, even banned from speaking publicly in Germany.

The third book is a contribution to medical ethics that is considered the modern classic in the field. One of the authors, Tom Beauchamp, is a utilitarian philosopher, while the other, James Childress, is a Kantian philosopher. One of the aims of the book, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, first published in 1977 was to construct ethical principles acceptable to people belonging to different moral traditions, religious backgrounds and having different philosophies. Beauchamp and Childress proposed the following four principles as a basis for moral decision-making in medicine: the principle of non-maleficence, the principle of beneficence, the principle of respect for autonomy, and the principle of justice. Other authors have applied the four principles to other areas of applied ethics, like research ethics and business ethics.

·       The principle of Beneficence is to produce benefit, to do good, and to always act in the best interests of the patient whatever is done or said must be for the patient's good includes being honest with patients, which in nearly all circumstances will be of benefit to the patients and patients should not be subjected to unnecessary investigations.

·       The principle of Beneficence means patients should not be subjected to unnecessary or futile therapies. This applies not only to physical good but also to psychological, social, and existential well-being. It must be distinguished from paternalism ('doctor knows best')

·       The principle of Nonmaleficence  is to minimize or do no harm, whatever is done or said must not harm the patient, physically or psychologically, includes being honest with patients; lying to patients or telling only part of the truth will very probably cause harm, for every intervention, the potential benefits must be weighed against possible adverse effects, treatments should not be prescribed unless there is a strong chance they will help the patient and only a small chance of unpleasant adverse effects.

·       Autonomy: Medical professionals should enable individuals to have a certain degree of autonomy in their lives, if that autonomy does not lead to harmful results. In some cases, this can mean deciding on behalf of a patient who can no longer make decisions. In cases in which the principles of non-maleficence and autonomy conflict with each other, the wishes of the patient take priority. If the patient cannot express an educated opinion (i.e., if they are an infant), the wishes of the parent or guardian are considered.

·       Justice: If negative occurrences are present in the lives of patients, medical professionals should work so that those issues should be resolved. They should cooperate with others who are also attempting to bring justice. An aspect of justice is the efforts of medical professionals to distribute organs on a fair, ethical basis determined by various factors, including need.

Methods

A method is a way to achieve or come nearer to some end. A method is the road map that helps us to reach the goal. Hence, what methods we use depend on what we want to achieve.

Methods in applied ethics vary depending on the question under inquiry. Traditionally, the aim of inquiries in applied ethics is to come to justified moral positions or judgments regarding individual cases or principles.

Different ethical theories will propose different methods to achieve this end. For example, utilitarianism suggests that we apply the principle of utility to judge what to do in a particular moral case. According to proponents of reflective equilibrium, the right action is the one that in a deliberative process matches relevant principles and considered judgments.

Ethical inquiry is a way to increase our knowledge of, or at least our insights into, ethical issues. As a starting point, any type of ethical inquiry depends on conceptual clarity and a careful assessment of arguments. We need to know the relevant views concerning the question under inquiry. A critical interpretation of different views may be a sufficient aim in applied ethics.

However, inquiries in applied ethics often concern social practices and institutions, and the aim, in such cases, is to find a well-argued position from which to act. For this purpose, philosophical methods are not sufficient. We also need relevant factual information and methods from other disciplines.

Another way to come to a decision is by applying a moral principle to the case in question. For example, a utilitarian philosopher can reason in the following way: When making moral decisions, one should choose the action that, compared with other alternatives, will increase the amount of pleasure, or decrease the amount of pain in the world. Thus, in applied ethics, one shall always act in accordance with the principle of utilitarianism.

Now, what shall we do if the decision made by the doctor comes into conflict with the decision formulated by the philosopher? Which decision is more reasonable? When raising this question, we can relate our discussion to the method of reflective equilibrium.

Reflective Equilibrium (RE)

RE examines any conflicting intuitions in the light of those principles and revise them until our well-considered intuitions are fully in harmony with our considered principles.

·       Start with various opinions about cases and about principles

·       Consider to what extent these opinions are coherent with each other

·       Consider examples to test your principles to see what you think

·       Consider alternative principles

·       Consider principles others accept and cases they suggest as test cases

·       Adjust particular views to principles and particular principles to views until you are happy with the total mix

·       Thus, views are in equilibrium in the sense that one feels no need to make further changes

Role of Ethicist

According to Dworkin, the role of the ethicist is rather one of an interpreter and moderator than a judge. The primary task of the ethicist is to listen to conflicting views, interpret and even reconstruct them to grasp their ethical substance and clarify how they are related.

According to Peter Singer, nothing prohibits ethicists from arguing for positions in applied ethics, if they have good arguments. Singer himself argues vigorously for liberal immigration policies, for generous aid to poor countries.