PHIL 223 Week 5 Assignment
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Philosophy
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Apr 3, 2024
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PHIL 223 Week Five Assignment
This assignment is due on Friday, February 10
th
at 11:59 pm. Please submit it via Canvas. Part A: Indicate true or false for each of the following statements (worth 4 points). 1.
In his piece titled “Refutation of Medical Paternalism (pp. 60-69 of the textbook), Alan Goldman,
overall, argues in favor of paternalism over autonomy. -False
The Hippocratic Oath (on page 59 of the textbook) says the following:
2.
“I will not give lethal drug to anyone if I am asked, nor will I advise such a plan.”- True
3.
I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgment. - True
4.
I will give a woman a pessary to cause an abortion if it is absolutely necessary to do so. - False
Part B: Read the case study “Beneficence Today, Or Autonomy (Maybe) Tomorrow” (pages 68-71) then answer the following question (worth 6 points). Compare reasons for and against waking Monica as presented by Bernice Elger and Jean-Claude Chevrolet respectively. Who among the two do you agree with, and why? If you agree with Elger then you need to also counter the reasons presented by Chevrolet. Likewise, if you agree with Chevrolet then
you need to counter the reasons presented by Elger. If you disagree with both of them then explain why and state your position. PS: PowerPoint slides and lecture videos are also available in Canvas under Week 5 Readings Content. According to Bernice S. Elger, Monica should be woken up. Elger states that by waking Monica up she could have important things in her life she would want to accomplish before she dies, e.g., saying goodbye, clarifying a matter, etc. She may also want to make a will or indicate how and by whom her affairs should be handled by. Since there is not a “best” alternative among the treatment possibilities, Monica will not be in a position of asking doctors to do something “irrational” or “dangerous” and thus will not have to “prove” her competency on the highest standards. However, according to Jean-Claude Chevrolet, Monica should not be woken up because the suffering might not lead to autonomous decision by Monica although waking her may offer benefits to others. She already has a short life expectancy with presumably miserable quality such that waking her to choose between horrible options – like use of extraordinary means. Chevrolet also states the Monica’s best interest will not be served by
a charade of autonomy. In my opinion, I agree with Elger’s viewpoint over Chevrolet’s viewpoint. Even though, Monica’s options are grim, painful, and depressing, all these decisions are going to affect Monica the most. She will be in pain but waking her up will still give her the opportunity to decide how she wants to be treated and if she would like to finish anything that she may want to do especially her regarding things regarding her children. Waking Monica up will not just benefit others but Monica too. The act of saying goodbye will benefit her family but it will also benefit her to say farewell to her loved ones that she might never see again. This is beneficial for both her and her family. Writing a will or clarifying her affairs might be something Monica wants to do so that her children are settled and taken care of. She might want to leave the earth by giving her children everything they need. Though Chevrolet’s argument is correct that waking Monica up will only cause her more pain as she must decide
between worse choices that result in her death, she has a right as a human being to make the decision to what she wants to do to her body. It would be a violation to Monica and her autonomy for other people to make a major decision regarding her life. Monica’s body is experiencing tremendous pain and she should be the person to decide what she would like to be done as it is her body. The doctors should not make decisions regarding Monica’s body without her knowing and approving of it first.
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