论道义论与功利论的一个根本区分:正当与善何者优先

道义论与功利论是当代西方规范伦理学的两种基本理论形态.两者的区分可以以正当与善何者优先来界定.一般来说,强调正当优先于善,并不以善来界定正当的理论是道义论理论,而以善优先于正当,并以善来规定正当的理论是功利论理论.     

再论应用伦理学的学科性质——兼论伦理学的"伦理"基础

在关于应用伦理学学科性质的讨论中,那种"集‘基本价值观’和‘程序共识论’于一体"的应用伦理学观应是其中最为重要的成果,并且是我们进一步讨论的基础。它其实向人们展示了"一个平台"与"两个端点",但它并没有真正掌握具体领域具体问题这一"端点"的本质特征,因而没能真正理解应用伦理学的学科性质。广义伦理学应该是应用伦理学协商对话的共同基础。由此出发,应用伦理学的学科性质就学科而言,它不仅涉及伦理学,也要涉及其他领域的专门学科;就其任务而言,它既要确保具体行为符合伦理原则和道德规范,又要顾及其他具体领域的正当利益诉求;就其方法而言,它采取的是"程序共识"的方法;就其结果而言,它具有"伦理妥协"的特征。     

市场经济伦理辨析

对市场经济伦理的研究在经济伦理学学科体系的建立和发展中具有基础性意义。市场经济伦理是一个区别于经济伦理和经济伦理学的概念 ,它包括表达市场机制自身的伦理意蕴、处理市场经济主体利益矛盾的伦理原则以及评价市场经济活动参与者行为是否正当的伦理规则等内容。在研究市场经济伦理时 ,应当区分伦理和道德不同的适用语境。     

对伦理学历史演变轨迹的一种概述(上)

最早产生的伦理学理论主要是目的论的.超验目的论、幸福论、快乐主义是它的重要形式.效用主义是快乐主义的一种较晚近的形式.德性伦理学也是最早产生的一种目的论伦理学.中国儒家学说在其核心处是一种德性的伦理学.在斯多亚学派的学说中,德性与至善概念疏离后成为目的本身.在西方,德性伦理学又由于它具有的不同特点被称为完善论或自我实现论.从德性伦理学中逐步分离出独立的正当概念.康德在许多方面来说是从德性伦理学到义务论伦理学的联系环节.在义务论伦理学中正当(应当)成为核心的概念.在义务论伦理学中,基于对正当的不同解说,形成责任论与权利论两脉.康德学说是责任论的杰出典范.在权利论中,首先形成作为其古代先声的回应的近现代契约论伦理学.从这种传统中新近发展出程序论的伦理学.     

启新、拓新与创新——论生态伦理学对伦理学的贡献

构建和谐社会,必须弘扬生态伦理,繁荣生态伦理学。生态伦理学对伦理学的贡献功不可没,主要体现为：开辟了伦理学研究的新领域,确立了处理人与自然关系的新原则,培育了人对自然的新态度,对传统思想展开了新的系统批判,明确了人类在自然生活中扮演的新角色,对伦理学基本观念进行了新阐释,制定了人类行为新规范。     

医疗实践中如何处理德性伦理与规范伦理的关系

正1基本涵义规范伦理有广义和狭义之分,广义的规范伦理是与元伦理学相对应的探讨道德领域的实质性内容的伦理体系,包含德性伦理。本文只讨论狭义上的规范伦理,即把研究的对象指向现实生活,强调通过探讨善与恶,正当与不正当,应该与不应该之间的界限与标准,研究道德的基础、本质及规律,试图形成道德的基本原则、规范,从而约束和指导人们的生活实践。规范伦理重在"规范"、"准则"。德性伦理是把关于人的品格的判断作为最基本的道德判断的理论。德性伦理聚焦于道德主体,即行为的推动     

当代伦理学的新发展:女性主义伦理学评介

女性主义伦理学是当代伦理学中反主流规范伦理学中的一支。它将女性身份作为反思西方社会生活的一个符号代码,试图以性别分析方法剖析伦理学领域内性别权力的运作,以结束使女性受压迫的伦理意识和谋划,达到更合理的对伦理道德的理解。同时它批判了规范伦理学的普遍主义理论体系与论证方式,质疑了主流伦理理论的基本预设与价值建构。女性主义伦理学探究是一个正在进行的过程,当代伦理学多元化发展的潮流中,女性主义的探究为伦理学的发展提供了更大空间。     

在"互镜"中寻求"合作"——现代性视域中的规范伦理学与德性伦理学之争

面对现代社会的各种道德危机,尤其是在解决现代人如何安身立命的重大生存论问题上,规范伦理学与德性伦理学究竟处于何种关系,亟待从理论层面加以澄明。对之把握,需要摒弃"二元对立"的抽象思维,立足现代道德生活的完满诠释与理解。现代道德生活既追求社会秩序,又崇尚道德理想,希冀幸福生活。由此,现代道德生活既需要能够守住道德底线的规范伦理学,也需要能够满足人们对美好生活热烈追求的德性伦理学。不管是规范伦理关于道德的外在约束,还是德性伦理从主体内在阐发的幸福期待,都旨在回应现代人道德生活的重大问题。     

发展伦理学:我国的研究现状、实践探索和未来旨趣

我国学界对发展伦理学的研究,其问题域集中在学科属性、研究对象、基本问题、哲学基础、伦理原则和价值理念等问题上.发展伦理学在我国的实践探索经历了从传统经济发展观、可持续发展观到科学发展现.发展伦理学在我国的未来旨趣表现在:首先在理论研究上,发展伦理学要强化范式意识,规范学术研究范式;其次,以马克思主义哲学为指导构建中国的发展伦理学体系;最后,在发展实践上要提升人类的类意识,以科学发展观为指导,强化、细化发展伦理的指标体系,把发展伦理规范落到实处.     

对伦理学历史演变轨迹的一种概述(下)

康德在许多方面来说是从德性伦理学到义务论伦理学的联系环节.在义务论伦理学中正当(应当)成为核心的概念,基于对正当的不同解说,形成责任论与权利论两脉.康德学说是责任论的杰出典范;在权利论中,首先形成作为其古代先声的回应的近现代契约论伦理学,从这种传统中新近发展出程序论的伦理学.     

Sensitive Topics,Missing Data,and Refusal in Social Network Studies: An Ethical Examination

We describe our ethics‐driven process of addressing missing data within a social network study about accountability for racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, cis‐sexism, ableism, and other forms of oppression among social justice union organizers. During data collection, some would‐be participants did not return emails and others explicitly refused to engage in the research. All refusals came from women of color. We faced an ethical dilemma: Should we continue to seek participation from those who had not yet responded, with the hopes of recruiting more women of color from within the network so their perspectives would not be tokenized? Or, should we stop asking those who had been contacted multiple times, which would compromise the social network data and analysis? We delineate ways in which current discussions of the ethics of social network studies fell short, given our framework and our community psychology (CP ) values. We outline literature that was helpful in thinking through this challenge; we looked outside of CP to the decolonization literature on refusal. Lessons learned include listening for the possible meanings of refusals and considering the level of engagement and the labor required of participants when designing research studies.     

Community Power Structure Analysis and the Ethical Considerations of “Studying Up”

This narrative outlines our challenges in studying power and power structures within an individual‐level ethical framework. Taking a social ethics perspective, we share the story of our “sticky situation” (Campbell, 2016 ) that transpired during a multi‐year community partnership. We were asked, by our community partners, to help collect interview data without informed consent. As a team of community‐engaged university researchers, we were faced with a seemingly easy ethical situation (no consent, no research) that had unexpectedly complicated and long‐lasting consequences. This experience revealed to us how community‐engaged research and action, under a traditional ethics framework, can often work to protect those in positions of power and offer little to disrupt the status quo. Reflecting on the tension between individual and social ethics, we discuss the limitations of an individual‐level framework, including the definitions for respect for persons, justice, and beneficence, on our ability as a field to understand, critique, and contribute to the dismantling of oppressive power structures.     

There is no such thing as environmental ethics

Engineers and scientists, whose professional responsibilities often influence the natural environment, have sought to develop an environmental ethic that will be in tune with their attitudes toward the non-human environment, and that will assist them in decision making regarding questions of environmental quality. In this paper the classical traditions in normative ethics are explored in an attempt to formulate such an environmental ethic. I conclude, however, that because the discipline of ethics is directed at person-person interactions, ethics as a scholarly discipline does not help us understand how we ought to treat non-human nature. We therefore cannot look to ethics as a source for understanding our attitudes and for providing guidance to our actions with regard to the environment. To do so is to ask too much of ethics. If we are to find an acceptable environmental morality, it must come from a new paradigm. One approach might be to understand our attitudes on the basis of spirituality, modeled after animistic religions.     

Reengineering Biomedical Translational Research with Engineering Ethics

It is widely accepted that translational research practitioners need to acquire special skills and knowledge that will enable them to anticipate, analyze, and manage a range of ethical issues. While there is a small but growing literature that addresses the ethics of translational research, there is a dearth of scholarship regarding how this might apply to engineers. In this paper we examine engineers as key translators and argue that they are well positioned to ask transformative ethical questions. Asking engineers to both broaden and deepen their consideration of ethics in their work, however, requires a shift in the way ethics is often portrayed and perceived in science and engineering communities. Rather than interpreting ethics as a roadblock to the success of translational research, we suggest that engineers should be encouraged to ask questions about the socio-ethical dimensions of their work. This requires expanding the conceptual framework of engineering beyond its traditional focus on “how” and “what” questions to also include “why” and “who” questions to facilitate the gathering of normative, socially-situated information. Empowering engineers to ask “why” and “who” questions should spur the development of technologies and practices that contribute to improving health outcomes.     

医疗腐败与医院管理伦理

医疗市场经济的利益导向在医疗领域的扭曲体现,产生了医院管理伦理失范,医疗腐败更是对医院管理伦理产生极大的腐蚀作用。因此,反对医疗腐败,倡导文明行医,需要正本清源,从医院管理道德建设的源头抓起,注重医院管理道德人格的完整性;需要对医疗市场经济中的医院管理伦理建设进行方法论的思考,真正做到既要面对市场,又要超越市场。     

Aristotle,Kant, and …Facebook? A Look at the Implications of Social Media on Ethics

The purpose of this study was to explore if and how social media might come to bear on people’s understanding of ethics. Participants were asked to complete online surveys regarding social media interaction and respond to 14 scenarios depicting ethical dilemmas. Our results suggest that social media and people’s perceptions of ethics do share a relationship. Specifically, we found that people who reported being exposed to ethical violations on social media were more likely to find our unethical scenarios to be personally unacceptable, to be of lower ethicality, and to react negatively to the content. These findings suggest that mere exposure to ethical violations is enough to produce awareness in people regarding ethical issues, which carries significant implications for ethics education.     

Students as Members of University-based Academic Research Ethics Boards: A Natural Evolution

University based academic Research Ethics Boards (REB) face the particularly difficult challenge of trying to achieve representation from a variety of disciplines, methodologies and research interests. Additionally, many are currently facing another decision – whether to have students as REB members or not. At Ryerson University, we are uniquely situated. Without a medical school in which an awareness of the research ethics review process might be grounded, our mainly social science and humanities REB must also educate and foster awareness of the ethics review process throughout the academic community. Our Board has had and continues to have students as active members. While there are challenges to having students as Board members, these are clearly outweighed by the advantages, for both the academic community and the future of ethically sound research in the social sciences and humanities. Moreover, the challenges are often based on misconceptions and can be easily overcome through increased education and understanding of the research ethics review process by the academic community at large. The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss the experiences, advantages and challenges of having students as REB members. The advantages of having students as REB members include the following: (1) Students are the proposed participants in many of our reviewed protocols and student members may illuminate unique issues of participation. (2) Students are active and highly engaged members of the REB. (3) Having students on the REB enhances awareness of research ethics within the University. (4) Student REB members have an opportunity to mentor other students and provide leadership for both undergraduate and graduate students. (5) Students are more vigorously recruited than faculty members and often apply for student positions with enthusiasm and preparation. (6) In creating an atmosphere of excellence in research, engaging students at the beginning of their research career will help in creating tomorrow’s leaders in research and research ethics. The challenges of having students as REB members include the following: (1) Faculty members may be uneasy regarding the prospect of students reviewing protocols. (2) Faculty members may be concerned about confidentiality and respect with students reviewing faculty research protocols. (3) There may be an increased burden for students who serve as members on an REB. (4) There is concern that students will offer less continuous service to the REB. (5) There is a common misconception that students do not have the experience to carry out ethical reviews. While there are challenges from faculty members and others regarding having students as REB members, these challenges are often based on misconceptions about the nature of the REB work and the ethics review process in general. These challenges are also often based on the misconception of the ethics review process as one of peer review and evaluation, instead of a community-based and inclusive process. Having student members is a long-term strategy for both overcoming the misconceptions of the REB as a “necessary evil” and for fostering an awareness of the imperative for ethically sound research in the social sciences and humanities.     

Mother Knows Best: Pregnancy,Applied Ethics,and Epistemically Transformative Experiences

L.A. Paul argues that interesting issues for rational choice theory are raised by epistemically transformative experiences: experiences which provide access to knowledge that could not be known without the experience. Consideration of the epistemic effects of pregnancy has important implications for our understanding of epistemically transformative experiences and for debate about the ethics of abortion and applied ethics more generally. Pregnancy is epistemically transformative both in Paul’s narrow sense and in a wider sense: those who have not been pregnant face significant barriers to acquiring the knowledge made accessible through pregnancy. This knowledge is crucial for engaging with the ethics of abortion. The epistemically transformative_WIDE nature of pregnancy may require us to use new methods to try to partially grasp what pregnancy is like, such as, for example, significant engagement with narrative literature. Because pregnancy is also epistemically transformative in a narrow sense, we need to work out how to engage in ethical reasoning when relevant knowledge is not fully accessible to all. This argument has implications beyond the debate about abortion. Philosophers in many areas of applied ethics will need to work out how to respond appropriately to epistemically transformative experiences.     

Against Moral Character Evaluations: The Undetectability of Virtue and Vice

I defend the epistemic thesis that evaluations of people in terms of their moral character as good, bad, or intermediate are almost always epistemically unjustified. (1) Because most people are fragmented (they would behave deplorably in many and admirably in many other situations), one’s prior probability that any given person is fragmented should be high. (2) Because one’s information about specific people does not reliably distinguish those who are fragmented from those who are not, one’s posterior probability that any given person is fragmented should be close to one’s prior—and thus should also be high. (3) Because being fragmented entails being indeterminate (neither good nor bad nor intermediate), one’s posterior probability that any given person is indeterminate should also be high—and the epistemic thesis follows. (1) and (3) rely on previous work; here I support (2) by using a mathematical result together with empirical evidence from personality psychology.