Theological Bioethics Midterm Exam Questions and Answers Latest 2025

Theological Bioethics Midterm Exam Questions and Answers Latest 2025 Ethics - Answers sustained and intentional reflection on morality and the moral life with analysis, discernment, reasoning, and argument Bioethics - Answers an interdisciplinary field of applied ethics that engages the complex moral problems emerging from developments in medical science, biotechnology, and health care Utiliarianism - Answers most prominent consequentialist theory. concentrates on the value of well-being (analyzed in terms of pleasure, happiness, welfare, preference satisfaction, and the like). accepts only one of the basic principles of ethics: the principle of utility = we ought always produce the maximal balance of positive value over disvalue. greatest good for the greatest number. often disagree about which values should be maximized deontological ethics (Kantian) - Answers Also referred to as nonconsequentialist- theory of duty holding that some features of actions other than or in addition to consequences make actions right or wrong Natural law - Answers form of deontology. right actions are those that conform to the moral standards embedded in nature and all reasonable people can discover, discern, and affirm them through human reason. both theistic and naturalistic versions. overrides considerations of utility. supplies general moral principles that can be applied to various situations rights theory - Answers protect against oppression, unequal treatment, intolerance, insecurity, invasion of privacy, and the like. many people now regard rights theory as the most important type of moral theory. derived from modern democratic thinking and discourse. the positive rights that persons bear are essential or primary for considering what is ethical action casuistry/ethical pragmatism - Answers disenchanted with the idea of abstract ideas. attention to detail of particular circumstances. moral accent should be on analyzing specific cases and then analogical reasoning from paradigmatic cases. claims we tend to be more confident of judgments reached in particular circumstances divine command - Answers this is how most of the people on the ground of religious traditions understand morality. 10 Commandments. clear ground of ethics beyond the self and the group. binding on all people. source of most of the historic and long-standing moral norms in many societies. God/the divine gives shape to the moral order as an expression of his reality/being/will Revelation - Answers God as a communicator for human flourishing Covenant - Answers made by God to the people of Israel Prophets - Answers Abraham as first prophet, Malachi as last Torah - Answers teaching/instruction, says very little about medical care Talmud - Answers 600 CE compilation of Mishna combined with Rabbinic commentary and decisions, two versions (Palestinian and Babylonian) Halakhah - Answers Jewish law as applied to Jewish living (responsorial, conversational, casuist, porous, open-ended) divine body ownership - Answers respect for life is fundamental. body belongs to God and is on a loan = duty to care for the body and duty not to harm the body. body can be used for good or evil = bodily pleasures are basically good as long as conformed to the constraints of the mitzvot. moral obligation to heal self and others creation - Answers God is the world's origin and source, all of it, including matter and the body. originally created good redemption - Answers deliverance from sin image of God - Answers created in God's image and thus bears an indelible human dignity as a gift of God. not dependent on any action, achievement, or status of the person Islamic five pillars - Answers declaration of faith, daily prayers, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage Qu'ran - Answers the words of God, final revelation of God Shari'a - Answers Islamic law governing behavior = Qur'an + Sunnah + qiya's + ijma' . fundamental goals = preservation of faith, life, mind, offspring, honor, and property Fiqh - Answers human judicial decisions of Islamic scholars Islamic Juridical Council's bioethics fatawa - Answers a formal ruling or interpretation on a point of Islamic law given by a qualified legal scholar. usually issued in response to questions from individuals or Islamic courts the common morality - Answers "norms about right and wrong and human conduct that are so widely shared that they form a stable social compact." the set of universal norms shared by all persons committed to morality. applicable to all persons in all places. we appropriately judge all human conduct by its standards moral dilemma - Answers ethical realism holds that there do exist morally ambiguous cases, in which different, justifiable moral norms are in conflict. has to be distinguished from: generally hard decisions, practical conflicts with self-interest, and moral self-deception. moral resolution through a process of discernment of the weightiest moral norm in a given situation. there still might be moral residue in ways that require post-decision moral action balancing/weighing - Answers the interplay between the four principles and the process of deciding which one prevails in a given situation. the different principles have to be balanced, but reasons must be adduced to determine the prevailing principle prima facie commitments - Answers meaning at first face/at first appearance. all four principles as prima facie. typically contrasted with both absolute and optional. there is a positive presumption for them, but it is also possible to justify their infringement by other sufficiently weighty considerations moral residue - Answers even the morally best action in the circumstances may still be regrettable and may leave a moral residue. also called a moral trace. regret and residue over what is not done can arise even if the right action is clear and uncontested. moral residue occurs because a prima facie obligation does not simply disappear when overridden autonomy - Answers self-decision that is free from controlling interference by others and from limitations that prevent meaningful choice. both negative and be justifiably overridden in certain circumstances. attenuation of autonomy does not mean an abandonment of obligation for moral respect/status Nonmaleficence - Answers refrain from causing n = "first do no harm." standard of due care Beneficence - Answers "norms, dispositions, and actions with the goal of benefitting or promoting the well-being of other persons." public beneficence aims to balance benefits, risks, and costs to produce the best overall results. protect and defend the rights of others, prevent harm from occurring to others, remove conditions of harm to others, help persons with disabilities, rescue persons in danger. can come into direct conflict with autonomy and must be balanced or weighed against nonmaleficence in many others Medical Paternalism - Answers "the intentional overriding of one person's preferences or actions by another person, where the person who overrides justifies the action by appeal to the goal of benefitting or of preventing harm to the person whose preferences or actions are overridden." hard = involves intervention in voluntary, informed choices and consequently violates autonomy. soft = involves intervention in nonvoluntary or ill-informed choices and does not violate autonomy veracity - Answers not an abstract view of knowledge, but one that considers the embodied situation of knowledge. "personal knowledge" compassion - Answers "active regard for another's welfare together with sympathy, tenderness, and discomfort at another's misfortune or suffering" truthworthiness - Answers "to warrant another's confidence in one's character and conduct" integrity - Answers "soundness, reliability, wholeness, and integration of moral character" combined with "objectivity, impartiality, and fidelity in adherence to moral norms" consciousness - Answers "motivated to do what is right...worked with due diligence to determine what is right, intends to do what is right, and exerts appropriate effort to do so"