The ProPublica report on the taxes paid by the ultrawealthy is an important backdrop in a syndemic framework for evaluating health. A strong tax base contributes directly to health in several ways. Public parks, social services, education, community health centers, strong infrastructure, and Medicaid rely on tax dollars. Medical research is often funded by NIH…
Science is defined many ways, but the modern definition used here is knowledge based on data and observation. That is, the distinction between science and the social sciences or humanities is that critical thinking and complex reasoning, generally based in philosophy, logic, and reason, are the backbone of the social sciences and humanities. Critical thought…
Critical theory seeks to challenge assumptions and constraining ideologies, both in a reflective, self-critical way and a normative way. It seeks to identify areas in need of change, identify who makes the change, and challenge prevailing views. Applying critical theory to bioethics would lead to questioning and changing prevailing assumptions as well as the actions…
In The “New” Medical Morality: Hippocrates or Bioethics? Jeffrey Hall Dobken writes, “…the neo-discipline of bioethics must be examined for moral effectiveness as well as clinical outcome.” By examining whose “needs and interests” are served by bioethics, Dobken criticizes the marginalization of both the doctor and patient voice. Dobken also questions the four principles and…
Last year, Dawn Wooten, a nurse in Georgia called attention to gynecological abuses of women held in ICE detention. In the US, some whistleblowing is protected and even has a set of processes in place. OSHA has a whistleblower protection program with a web of statutes across industries. Whistleblower laws left Edward Snowden unprotected, arguably…
New ethical standards will help discern what is or is not morally (and legally) owed animals now that techno-science affects wildlife and ecosystems. The term privacy rights as it applies to animals highlights the risks of high-tech surveillance using drones, vehicles, and camera traps. Tagging and tracing devices aimed for conservation efforts and to protect…
The practical situation can inform the ethics to some degree. Yet bioethics seems one directional, using theory to generate rules. Then, the rules are applied in clinical situations. Some argue for reflective equilibrium (situations influencing principles, i.e., the process of reflecting on and then revising philosophies) as a component of bioethics. Reflective equilibrium prevents certain…
Thinking like a lawyer can help with some bioethics approaches. When given a fact pattern, lawyers tend to zero in on the issues. Some people spend more time on the facts and others move toward identifying issues and applying or suggesting rules that might be generalizable. Both ways of thinking are valuable. A handle on…
This blog (and the accompanying course) is not designed to make bioethics easier or even more academically accessible. It is to address whether ethical dilemmas caused by complex scientific developments or traditions in the doctor patient relationship require broader frameworks and the identification of additional issues. One goal is to figure out whether upstream policies…
Bioethics is de facto interdisciplinary in nature. Scientists and those in medicine, etc. engage in behavior that, where relevant, reflects their social norms and moral code. The impact of scientific discovery on society (even on those who do not actively use the discovery) is often deliberated by the bioethics community. Philosophers, thinkers, and lawyers have…