Foundational Ethical Principles Research Articles

Reclaiming Media: Answering Surveillance Capitalists with Care-Based Democracy

ABSTRACT This project explores the political economy, logic, strategies, agents, values, and ethical implications of this latest iteration of modern capitalism, and it seeks to delineate what surveillance capitalism is and what its consequences are for human dignity and worth. Using technologies of which they are ignorant, surveillance capitalists interfere with our ability to become ourselves individually and collectively. Without consent, they invade privacy, impede moral autonomy, harm democracy, and muddle care. Surveillance capitalists also violate a number of foundational ethical principles, failing the standards of Kant, Mill, and Aristotle. I sketch out a broad alternative to surveillance capitalism, one where our media systems are built on decentered understandings of a care-based democracy. Reinvigorating both the press and collective self-government, the caring digital citizen has less need for surveillance, requiring good faith understanding and the moral autonomy to pursue excellence.

The Public Performativity of Trust.

Building trust between academic medical centers and certain communities they depend on in the research process is hard, particularly when those communities consist of minoritized or historically marginalized populations. Some believe that engagement activities like the creation of advisory boards, town halls, or a research workforce that looks more like community members will establish or reestablish trust between academic medical centers and racialized communities. However, without systematic approaches to dismantle racism, those well-intended actions become public performativity, and trust building will fail. In this essay, we draw upon foundational ethical principles of trust, distrust, and trust building; apply the concept of bounded justice to performative trust acts; and center the works of Black and Indigenous feminist bioethicists to revisit some of the wisdom and valuable lessons they have contributed. Rebuilding trust is hard to do because people and institutions are often not honest about how hard it is and there is no simple box-checking task that can disentangle our society's injustices, but there are steps to take in this direction. Individuals and institutions can recognize valuable relevant work that has already been written, partake in critical reflection, and then apply insights gained to take both small and sustainable steps toward transformational change and deeper trust.

Foundational Ethical Principles of Collaborative Evaluation: Recruitment and Retention of Female Engineers in Health Care

Foundational Ethical Principles of Collaborative Evaluation: Recruitment and Retention of Female Engineers in Health Care

Relevance of Yama in Modern Times

General perception of yoga is practice of Asana, Pranayama or meditation technique for therapeutic purposes. The foundational ethical principles of yoga are not considered in the modern time practices. Yama and niyama are not widely known and are not even taught in the yoga classes. This paper discusses the concept of ethical principles of yoga and its importance in modern times. Increasing crimes, family disputes for money, unethical behavior in public places and not to forget fight for the religions, whose aim is to bring peace and harmony in the society. So Purpose of this study is to understand how world can be a better place, if in every school ethical principles are taught, kids are molded in such a way and every individual follows it. Through hermeneutics and intertextual approaches it is seen that the impact of yama (social discipline) helps to move beyond one's natural tendencies of anger, frustration and disappointment. By bringing change in each self, their emotions will bring change in the energy in the body and change in behavior and thoughts. Society will be crime free and more peaceful.

Evaluation of Impact of Ethics of Yoga in the Psychological Health of College Students: A Randomized Control Trial

Background/Objectives: The foundational ethical principles of yoga have not been of focus and not widely known. This study was to evaluate the yoga ethics that could reduce the level of stress in college students. Methods/Statisticalanalysis :A randomized control trial was conducted. One hundred participants were randomly assigned to control group and experiment group with a duration of three months intervention and one month follow-up. The outcome measures of stress level were assessed through Bio-Well instrument. A parametric independent sample t-test for the between-group analyses and paired sample t-test for within-group analysis compared the means of two groups. Findings: There was a statistically significant reduction in the stress after the intervention (p<0.001) and follow up (p=0.035) between the group comparisons. The within-group comparisons showed high reduced in the level of stress after the intervention (p<0.001) and follow-up (p<0.01). Novelty: The current study provides preliminary evidence that the practice of ethical principles of Yama and Niyama effectively reduces the stress and may improve psychological health and well-being. Keywords: Yoga ethics; Yama; Niyama; Stress; Psychological wellbeing; BioWell

Response to Leonard Swidler's "How the Idea of a 'Global Ethic' Arose—And a Christian's Reading of the Qur'ānic Basis for It"

Response to Leonard Swidler's "How the Idea of a 'Global Ethic' Arose—And a Christian's Reading of the Qur'ānic Basis for It" Riffat Hassan Introduction I was pleased to read your reflective statement about Islam and Muslims in the context of interreligious dialogue and the global ethic. I have had the privilege of being your Muslim dialogue partner since 1979, when you invited me to join the pioneer Trialogue of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim scholars, which you coordinated under the auspices of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics in Washington, DC. Our dialogue continued through several years of the Trialogue, followed by many other interreligious and intercultural interactions in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pakistan-Bangladesh subcontinent. I know how hard you always tried to find "critical" Muslims and engage them in interreligious dialogue. From your essay, I can see that you have been listening carefully to your Muslim dialogue partners and also taking a serious look at the Qur'ān, which is the highest source of authority for the majority of Muslims. In terms of your understanding of Islam/Muslims, you certainly have come a long way since 1979, and I applaud your consistency of purpose and your diligent endeavor to find common ground between Islam and (Catholic) Christianity. I respond here to several of the important points you raised in your essay. In Section VI, you referred to the famous story of Muslim refugees and King Al-Najashi of Abyssinia as follows: As a historical background, I wish to note that, while Muhammad was still being challenged in his teaching by some in his Meccan Quraysh family, he [End Page 301] sent several of his followers—including Uthman, who became his third successor as head of the Muslims—to Abyssinia [Ethiopia] because he had heard that the Christian King Al-Najashi allowed Muslims to live there in peace; in fact, that turned out to be the case, as King Al-Najashi subsequently rejected the protestations of Muhammad's enemies and allowed his Muslim followers to live in peace in Abyssinia. Thus, an early bridge between Muslims and Christians was built. The story you have related is indeed important in the context of the persecution of the followers of Prophet Muhammad by the pagan Quraish leaders of Mecca and the Prophet's decision to send a group of Muslims to seek asylum in Abyssinia, whose Christian king had a reputation for being just. The fact that the king refused to accede to the plea presented by the emissary of Meccan leaders who appeared in his court laden with gifts to seek the extradition of the refugees is also of historical significance in Christian-Muslim relations. Since I am sure you would like to know the details of this story, I share with you an account of this incident given by my United Kingdom-based Egyptian friend, Professor Yasmin Amin, a notable scholar of Hadith, in her M.A. thesis titled "Umm Salama and Her Hadith." (See Appendix A.) You have also cited some qur'ānic verses to support your viewpoint that Muslims are instructed to have a positive attitude toward other religions and to engage in interreligious dialogue with persons of diverse religious groups. Your viewpoint is supported not only by the verses you have cited but by qur'ānic teachings as a whole. Before reviewing your interpretation of the verses you have cited, which have been selected randomly, I will validate my statement by drawing attention to some qur'ānic texts that articulate foundational ethical and theological principles. I will begin by clarifying how Muslims see the Qur'ān. I. How Muslims See the Qur'ān Muslims believe that the Qur'ān—which means "what is read or recited"—is the actual Word of God transmitted by the Archangel Gabriel to Prophet Muhammad. The qur'ānic revelation started in the year 610 c.e. when Prophet Muhammad was forty years old, and continued until his death in 632. The Qur'ān is also called al-Kitab (the Book) which has 114 units [End Page 302] called surahs, each of which consists of a number of ayats or verses. In Surah 16...

Ethical issues in geriatric cranial neurosurgery.

The global demographic shift to an older population has led to the emergence of the new field of geriatric neurosurgery. Beyond the complexities of disease states and multimorbidity, advanced age brings with it intricate ethical issues pertaining to both the practice and provision of medical and surgical care. In this paper, the authors describe the central ethical themes seen across the spectrum of common neurosurgical conditions in the elderly and highlight the use of foundational ethical principles to help guide treatment decision-making.

Ethical considerations for allocation of scarce resources and alterations in surgical care during a pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 is unprecedented in modern history. Its effects on social behavior and health care delivery have been dramatic. The resultant burden of disease and critical illness has outpaced the diagnostic, therapeutic, and health care professional resources of many clinics and hospitals. It continues to do so globally. The allocation of hospital beds and ventilators, personal protective equipment, investigational therapeutics, and other scarce resources has required difficult decisions. Clinical and surgical practices which are standard in normal times may not be standard or safe during the COVID-19 crisis. How can we best adapt as physicians and surgeons? What foundational ethical principles and systems of principle application can help guide our decision-making? Fortunately, a large body of work in medical ethics addresses these questions. Unfortunately, many surgeons and other health care professionals are probably not as familiar with these concepts. This brief communication is intended to provide a concise explanation of ethical considerations which readers may find helpful when addressing allocation of scarce resources and alterations in surgical care brought on by the current pandemic.

Modernization Updates to the Common Rule: Recommendations for Researchers Working With Human Participants

Introduction: This tutorial article explicates some of the 2017 updates to the 1991 Common Rule. Implemented in January 2019, these changes impact the evolving landscape of research with human participants in the US. The introduction provides context for the article as well as framing research questions. Key concepts: These include a brief definition of research for the purposes of the article; a discussion of the foundational ethical principles of autonomy (respect for persons), beneficence, and justice; and a brief overview of the recent policy revision process and its impact on scholarship in the field. After establishing this context, readers are provided five key lessons from the policy revisions. Key lessons: The lessons for researchers working with human participants include discussion of the impact of policy changes in the Common Rule associated with broad consent, single Institutional Review Board (IRB) mandate/cooperative review, updated exemptions, modified definitions of vulnerability, and international research. These are all contextualized within a specific example for professional communication researchers. Implications for practice: Although educative efforts are underway at both the federal and institutional levels, it is important for disciplines and researchers to understand how policy changes will impact the IRB review process. Attendance to the infrastructures that guide our research design and development warrants attention.

A philosophical examination of the concept and nature of suicide as a socio-ethical issue

This paper critically examines the nature of suicide as a contemporary Socio-ethical issue. It argues that the phenomenon of suicide is one that can be understood from varied standpoints, especially where it refers to the reasons why most people contemplate suicide. In this paper, I tried to show those moments in which the notion of suicide seems to project ambivalence based on some foundational ethical principles, some of which seem to justify or condemn the act of suicide. Some of the arguments thus examined include amongst others, the theological argument, domino argument, legal principles, justice argument, and utilitarian principle etcetera. It was against this backdrop that I took a bent and reached a crescendo in which case I maintained that the notion of suicide runs contrary to the fundamental ethical value of traditional Igbo aborigines of the complementary system of thought, the latter who avers that ndu bu isi (life is of supreme value). It was upon this premise as well as other principles of human co-existential experience that I condemned the act of suicide. I employed the philosophical tools of skeptic-critical evaluation cum analysis to arrive at this conclusive conclusion.

Inside Digital Dinah Craik: Feminist Pedagogy, Cognitive Apprenticeship, and the TEI

In this essay, we describe our collaborative work as students and teachers on a TEI edition of Dinah Mulock Craik’s correspondence. Inside Digital Dinah Craik, our pedagogy is collaborative and inclusive, attentive to the material conditions of both the text and our labor, and is reproducible. We follow a cognitive apprenticeship model of education that emphasizes a community of practice where learners become increasingly proficient until, ideally, they are no longer apprentices but genuine collaborators. In this paper, we demonstrate how the five stages of apprenticeship learning—modeling, approximating, fading, self-directed learning, and generalizing (Hansman 2001, 47)—help us to foster what scholars such as Anne Balsamo, Elizabeth Losh, Jacqueline Wernimont, Laura Wexler, and Hong-An Wu call the “foundational ethical principles” (Balsamo 2011, 162–3) and “feminist virtues” (Losh et al. para. 26) of collaboration—confidence, humility, flexibility, integrity, and intellectual generosity.

Racism and Its Harmful Effects on Nondominant Racial–Ethnic Youth and Youth-Serving Providers: A Call to Action for Organizational Change: The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine

Racism can exert negative effects on the self-concepts, health and well-being, and life trajectories of both nondominant racial–ethnic (NDRE) youth and youth-serving providers. In the face of growing nationalism, ethnocentrism, xenophobia, and overt expressions of racism, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine recognizes the critically important need to address the issue of racism and its impact on both NDRE youth and youth-serving providers. Organizations involved in clinical care delivery and health professions training and education must recognize the deleterious effects of racism on health and well-being, take strong positions against discriminatory policies, practices, and events, and take action to promote safe and affirming environments. The positions presented in this paper provide a comprehensive set of recommendations to promote routine clinical assessment of youth experiences of racism and its potential impact on their self-concept, health and well-being, and for effective interventions when affected youth are identified. The positions also reflect the concerns of NDRE providers, trainees, and students potentially impacted by racism, chronic minority stress, and vicarious trauma and the imperative to create safe and affirming work and learning environments across all levels of practice, training, and education in the health professions. In this position paper, Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine affirms its commitment to foundational moral and ethical principles of justice, equity, and respect for humanity; acknowledges racism in its myriad forms; defines strategies to best promote resiliency and support the health and well-being of NDRE youth, providers, trainees, and students; and provides recommendations on the ways to best effect systemic change.

Balance of Principles.

Each work in this collection explores, from patients' or their loved ones' points of view, balance between patients' experiences and one or more of 4 well-known principles of ethics in health care.

Revised 'Common Rule' Shapes Protections For Research Participants.

Investigators and institutions have begun to prepare for new federal protections of study participants set to take effect in 2018.

Social Networking: Boundaries and Limits Part 1: Ethics

The number of educators, administrators, and institutions that utilize social networking has increased dramatically. Many have adopted social networking in order to be up-to-date and connected with their students’ learning beyond the boundaries of the classroom. However, this increase in the use of social networking in academia presents many potential issues. In this paper, we address the growing prevalence of social networking in education and some of the issues. Next, we use social role theory to explore some pitfalls for educators using social networking. Finally, we suggest that foundational ethical principles from the field of psychology can provide a basis for developing guiding principles for use of social networking in education.

Entrenching a 'Duty to Do Wrong' in Medicine: Canadian Government Funds Project to Suppress Freedom of Conscience and Religion

After a young woman had to go to a clinic in the next block to get birth control pills, a crusade was started against three physicians who decline to prescribe contraceptives that spilled into mainstream media and earned a blog posting by Professor Carolyn McLeod on Impact Ethics. Professor McLeod objects to the physicians’ practice for three reasons. First: it implies - falsely, in her view - that there are medical reasons to prefer natural family planning to manufactured contraceptives. Second, she claims that refusing to refer for contraceptives and abortions violates a purported “right” of access to legal services. Third, she insists that the physician should not have used a written notice, but met the patient to explain himself and then helped her to obtain contraception elsewhere by referral. However, there is still room in the medical profession for critical thinking; note that the Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics requires physicians to advise patients if their views are not representative of those of the profession as a whole. While a face-to-face meeting with patients is normally preferable, it may actually be preferable for walk-in clinic patients to be advised promptly by the receptionist when they arrive. Professor McLeod makes surprising and erroneous claims that if freedom of conscience and religion is not limited, Muslim physicians would refuse to accept female patients, and Catholic physicians would deny care to women who have had previous abortions. This bespeaks a complete lack of intellectual engagement with Islamic medical ethics and with Catholic moral theology. Her claim that physicians “cannot act on moral beliefs that prevent them from providing referrals for standard services” is contradicted by Canadian Medical Association policy and by the 25,000 member Ontario Medical Association (OMA). A central goal of Professor McLeod’s Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded project is to entrench in medical practice a duty to refer for or otherwise facilitate morally contested procedures. From the perspective of many objecting physicians, this amounts to imposing a duty to do what they believe to be wrong. Two other leaders of this insist that objecting physicians also be forced to refer for euthanasia and assisted suicide. That the state can legitimately compel people to do what they believe to be wrong and punish them if they refuse is a dangerous idea that turns foundational ethical principles upside down. CMA and OMA policy on freedom of conscience safeguards the legitimate autonomy of patients and the integrity of physicians. The policy also protects the community against a particularly deadly form of authoritarianism: a demand that physicians kill their patients or help to arrange for the killing, even if they believe doing so is wrong.

Ethical Considerations for Planetary Protection in Space Exploration: A Workshop

With the recognition of an increasing potential for discovery of extraterrestrial life, a diverse set of researchers have noted a need to examine the foundational ethical principles that should frame our collective space activities as we explore outer space. A COSPAR Workshop on Ethical Considerations for Planetary Protection in Space Exploration was convened at Princeton University on June 8-10, 2010, to examine whether planetary protection measures and practices should be extended to protect planetary environments within an ethical framework that goes beyond "science protection" per se. The workshop had been in development prior to a 2006 NRC report on preventing the forward contamination of Mars, although it responded directly to one of the recommendations of that report and to several peer-reviewed papers as well. The workshop focused on the implications and responsibilities engendered when exploring outer space while avoiding harmful impacts on planetary bodies. Over 3 days, workshop participants developed a set of recommendations addressing the need for a revised policy framework to address "harmful contamination" beyond biological contamination, noting that it is important to maintain the current COSPAR planetary protection policy for scientific exploration and activities. The attendees agreed that there is need for further study of the ethical considerations used on Earth and the examination of management options and governmental mechanisms useful for establishing an environmental stewardship framework that incorporates both scientific input and enforcement. Scientists need to undertake public dialogue to communicate widely about these future policy deliberations and to ensure public involvement in decision making. A number of incremental steps have been taken since the workshop to implement some of these recommendations.

Ethics for the Pediatrician: The Persuasion of Enhancements in Pediatrics

1. Ferdinand D. Yates Jr, MD, MA* 1. *Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics, State University of New York at Buffalo, NY. Is there anything wrong with wanting to be more alert in a school class or to do better on an entrance examination? What about having better concentration on the balance beam or greater muscle mass for a wrestling match? What about the parent who wants his average-size basketball-playing son to be 3 inches taller? Most pediatrics patients want to do well and to succeed, and their parents are generally supportive of such desire. Should we, as physicians, be complicit with their goals, and if so, to what extent do we participate? This treatise highlights some of the foundational ethical principles regarding the use of enhancements in the pediatric population, specifically the use of growth hormone (GH) as a height enhancer, as well as some of the unrealized technologies that are on the horizon. Reflective consideration of the use of enhancements must guide not only current therapeutic options, but also future possibilities. One of the core considerations in the use of the term “enhancement” is the actual purpose of the enhancement. Is the enhancement to be therapeutic or nontherapeutic? Is the enhancement designed to replace what no longer functions well or is it designed to exceed the initial limitations? Is the enhancement to make a person well or perhaps even better than well? Among the many examples of medications that enhance are: GH in short children, erythropoietin for the increased production of red blood cells, propranolol for lowering blood pressure and inducing bradycardia, steroids in asthma, and modafinil for narcolepsy. Each of these medications, and others, has legitimate medical applications, but an ethically problematic situation arises as medications are used off-label for unapproved …

Controversy and Consensus on Pediatric Donation After Cardiac Death: Ethical Issues and Institutional Process

Donation after cardiac death (DCD) remains controversial in some pediatric institutions. An evidence-based, consensus-building approach to setting institutional policy about DCD can address the controversy openly and identify common ground. To resolve an extended internal debate regarding DCD policy at Children's Hospital Boston, a multidisciplinary task force was commissioned to engage in fact finding and deliberations about clinical and ethical issues in pediatric DCD, and attempt to reach consensus regarding the development of a protocol for pediatric DCD. Issues examined included values and attitudes of staff, families, and the public; number of possible candidates for DCD at the hospital; risks and benefits for child donors and their families; and research needs. Consensus was reached on a set of foundational ethical principles for pediatric DCD. With assistance from the local organ procurement organization (OPO), the task force developed a protocol for pediatric kidney DCD which most members believed could meet all the requirements of the foundational ethical principles. Complete consensus on the use of the protocol was not reached; however, almost all members supported initiation of kidney DCD for older pediatric patients who had wished to be organ donors. The hospital has implemented the protocol on this limited basis and established a process for considering proposals to expand the eligible donor population and include other organs.

Socratic Questions and Aristotelian Answers: A Virtue-Based Approach to Business Ethics

To teach that being ethical requires knowing foundational ethical principles – or, as Socrates claimed, airtight definitions of ethical terms – is to invite cynicism among students, for students discover that no such principles can be found. Aristotle differs from Socrates in claiming that ethics is about virtues primarily, and that one can be virtuous without having the sort of knowledge that characterizes mathematics or natural science. Aristotle is able to demonstrate that ethics and self-interest may overlap, that ethics is largely compatible with common sense, and that Aristotle’s virtuous person can make ethical decisions rationally. Case studies can help students improve their ethical perception and keep their values from being overwhelmed by corporate culture.