ethics class 1.3 2011

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ETHICS

Ethics in relation with other fields of knowledge

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Part I

1. Introduction to Ethics

y W hat is e thics? Th e natur e of e thics .

y

Ethics as a normativ e and practical sci e nc e.

y Its r e lation with oth e r fie lds of kno wle dg e: p sychology, sociology, law, me ta physics, anthro pology .

y Ethics as a philoso phical disci p line:moral expe rie nc e and e thical r e fle ction .

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ETHICS AND SOCIOLOGY

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Ethics and sociology

y Sociology is a descriptive science; itstudies different phenomena whichtake place in mans life in society;

y

Describes, classifies, measures socialfacts through empirical analysis tounderstand the social dimension of human behaviour;

y However it is not within itscompetence to make a judgment on

whether a given action is morally goodor not.

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y

After conducting a research, asociologist may reach to theconclusion that corruption isrampant in a particular country.

y But it would be wrong to conclude

that corruption is acceptablebehaviour.

The same applies to questionsrelated to the value of life.

The fact that many people approveof abortion does not make thisaction ethically acceptable.

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y Sociological studies can provideuseful information for ethics.

y Its research findings can help oneto know what is commonly done ina particular sector of society or thesociety as a whole at a givenperiod in time.

e.g. reasons for mothers to workoutside the home, environmentalfactors that affect the childs

learning process, etc.

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ETHICS AND P SYCHOLOGY

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ETHICSEthics and psychology

y Descriptive science

y Studies the nature and genesisof free actions from theperspective of the physical or biological laws.

y

A persons action is said to bewholesome, healthy or ill, wellbalanced psychologically or not.

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ETHICSEthics differs from psychology:

y Ethics studies mans free actionsfrom the point of view of their moral value.

y Ethics explains why theseactions are performed andunder which ethical principles

they can be said to be good or bad.

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ETHICS

y A person studying ethics can use thedata offered by psychology tounderstand:

y The influence of our emotions on our free actions

y The influence of pathologicalconditions on the actions of a person.

y Aspects that increase or reduce thevoluntary dimension of the act.

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ETHICS

Ethics and psychology

y The relation between the two can

be seen in the fact thatpsychological help becomes attimes necessary for the moral lifeitself:

y e.g. in the case of a person whoneeds to recover the normalpsychic conditions for theresponsible exercise of hisfreedom

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ETHICS

Ab ortion and me ntal he alth

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ETHICSP sychological e ff e cts of a bortion

y Re s e arch e rs inve stigating post-a bortion r e actions r ep ort only on e p ositiv e e motion : r e lie f .

y This e motion is und e rstanda b le , e s pe cially in light of the fact that the majority of a borting wom e n r ep ort f ee ling und e r inte ns e p r e ssur e to "ge t it ove r with."

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y Te mporary f ee lings of r e lie f ar e fr eq ue ntly followe d

by a pe riod psychiatrists ide ntify as e motional "paralysis, " or post-a bortion "num bne ss .

y Ina b ility to exp r e ss or e ve n f ee l the ir own e motions .

y Focus primarily on having surviv e d the ord e al, and the y ar e at le ast te mporarily out of touch with the ir f ee lings .

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ETHICS

P sychological e ff e cts of a bortion

y Studi e s within the first f ew week s aft e r the a bortion hav e found that be twee n 40 and 60 pe rce nt of wom e n que stion e d r ep ort ne gativ e r e actions .

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y W ithin 8 week s aft e r the ir a bortions :

55% exp r e ss e d guilt,

44% com p lain e d of ne rvous disord e rs, 36%expe rie nc e d sleep distur banc e s,

31% had r e gr e ts a bout the ir de cision,

11% had bee n pr e scri be d psychotro p ic me dicin e b y the ir family doctor .

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y In a study of tee nag e a bortion patie nts, half suff e r e d a wors e ning of psychosocial functioning within 7 months aft e r the a bortion .

y Th e imm e diat e impact a ppe ar e d to be gr e at e st on the p atie nts who we r e und e r 17 ye ars of ag e and for thos e w ith pr e vious psychosocial prob le ms .

y Sym p toms includ e d: s e lf-r ep roach, dep r e ssion, social r e gr e ssion, withdra wal .

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y In a study of tee nag e a bortion patie nts, half suff e r e d

a wors e ning of psychosocial functioning within 7months aft e r the a bortion .

y Th e imm e diat e impact a ppe ar e d to be gr e at e st on the p atie nts who we r e und e r 17 ye ars of ag e.

y Sym p toms includ e d : s e lf-r ep roach, dep r e ssion, social r e gr e ssion, withdra wal

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ETHICS


y During this time , the w oman may go to gr e at le ngths to avoid pe op le , situations, or e ve nts which sh e associat e s with he r a bortion and sh emay e ve n be com e vocally de f e nsiv e of a bortion in ord e r to convinc e oth e rs, and he rs e lf, that sh emad e the right choic e and is satisfi e d with theoutcom e.

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ETHICS


y In r e ality, the s e w om e n who ar e su bs eq ue ntly ide ntifie d as having bee n s e ve r e ly traumatiz e d, hav efaile d to r e ach a tru e stat e of "closur e" w ith r e gard to the ir expe rie nc e s .

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y Rep r e ss e d f ee lings of any sort can r e sult in p

sychological and

behavioral

difficulti

es

which

exhi

bit

the ms e lve s in oth e r ar e as of on e' s lif e.

y An incr e asing num be r of couns e lors ar e r ep orting that unac kno wle dg e d post-a bortion distr e ss is the

causativ e factor in many of the ir f e mal e p atie nts, e ve n though the ir patie nts hav e com e to the m s eek ing the ra py for s ee mingly unr e late d prob le ms .

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ETHICS


y Num e rous r e s e arch e rs hav e r ep orte d that posta bortion cris e s ar e ofte n pr e cip itat e d by theanniv e rsary dat e of the a bortion .

y Th e s e e motional cris e s may a ppe ar to beinexp lica b le and short-liv e d, occurring for many ye ars until a conn e ction is finally e sta b lish e d during couns e ling s e ssions .

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ETHICS


y A 5 ye ar r e tros pe ctive study in two Canadian provinc e s found that 25% of a borte d wom e n mad evisits to psychiatrists as com par e d to 3% of thecontrol grou p.

y W om e n who hav e und e rgon e p ost-a bortion couns e ling r ep ort ove r 100 major r e actions to a bortion .

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ETHICS


y Among the most fr eq ue ntly r ep orte d ar e:- dep r e ssion, - loss of s e lf-e st ee m, - se lf-de structiv e be havior,

- sleep disord e rs, - chronic prob le ms with r e lationshi ps, - dramatic pe rsonality chang e s,

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ETHICS


y Among the most fr eq ue ntly r ep orte d ar e:- an xie ty attac ks, - guilt and r e mors e , - incr e as e d te nd e ncy toward viole nc e ,

- chronic crying, - Difficulty conc e ntrating, - flash bac ks .

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ETHICS


y Among the most worrisom e of the s e r e actions is theincr e as e of s e lf-de structiv e be havior among a borte d wom e n .

y In a surv e y of ove r 100 w om e n who had suff e r e d from post-a bortion trauma, fully 80 pe rce nt exp r e ss e d f ee lings of "s e lf-hatr e d ."

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ETHICS


y In the sam e study, 49 pe rce nt r ep orte d drug a bus eand 39 pe rce nt be gan to us e or incr e as e d the ir us eof alcohol .

y App roximat e ly 14 pe rce nt de scri be d the ms e lve s as having be com e " addict e d" or "alcoholic " afte r the ir a bortions .

ethics class 1.3 2011

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