It Is A Mistake To Reject Religious Principles In Favour Of Secular/Ethical Principles
“It is a mistake to reject religious principles in favour of secular/ethical principles for guidance in medical ethics.”- Examine and comment on this claim, with reference to the topic you have investigated. (50 marks)
Ethics are moral beliefs and theories which people can choose to abide by in order to judge an action as either right or wrong. Medical ethics needs a set of moral guidelines to act upon in serious cases and dilemmas because it usually involves deciding the consequences of a person’s life. Secular principles are outside of religion (or a God of theism), hence its ethical guidance would be based upon rationality, personalism, the situation and other properties.
Some people argue that morality and religion are intertwined, and as medical ethics is under morality’s wing, it would appear that religion must be intertwined within medical ethics.
Most ethical principles derive from religion and thus people may say that morality is existential to faith in God. St Thomas Aquinas stated that acting morally is proof of God’s nature and we are reflecting it through ourselves. He sought to provide a rational basis of Christianity and was heavily influenced by Aristotle. They believed in Natural Law theory which argues that morality is a quality given to humans by God for rational …show more content…
It was devised by John Stuart Mill who argued that there are universal principles which all people agree up, such as murder is wrong, and there was the Harm Principle which took into account that sometimes immoral acts have to happen at the expense of the minority. It too is practical when creating guidelines for medical ethics. Some religions have taken into account of the changed common views and values felt amongst society and have acted accordingly, such as the Church of England. The Synod has permitted abortion in cases when the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life, such as Savita’s
Ethics are moral beliefs and theories which people can choose to abide by in order to judge an action as either right or wrong. Medical ethics needs a set of moral guidelines to act upon in serious cases and dilemmas because it usually involves deciding the consequences of a person’s life. Secular principles are outside of religion (or a God of theism), hence its ethical guidance would be based upon rationality, personalism, the situation and other properties.
Some people argue that morality and religion are intertwined, and as medical ethics is under morality’s wing, it would appear that religion must be intertwined within medical ethics.
Most ethical principles derive from religion and thus people may say that morality is existential to faith in God. St Thomas Aquinas stated that acting morally is proof of God’s nature and we are reflecting it through ourselves. He sought to provide a rational basis of Christianity and was heavily influenced by Aristotle. They believed in Natural Law theory which argues that morality is a quality given to humans by God for rational …show more content…
It was devised by John Stuart Mill who argued that there are universal principles which all people agree up, such as murder is wrong, and there was the Harm Principle which took into account that sometimes immoral acts have to happen at the expense of the minority. It too is practical when creating guidelines for medical ethics. Some religions have taken into account of the changed common views and values felt amongst society and have acted accordingly, such as the Church of England. The Synod has permitted abortion in cases when the pregnancy threatens the mother’s life, such as Savita’s