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1Freedom, Autonomy, and Responsibility: An Analysis of Autonomy in Applied SettingsDissertation, The University of Tennessee. 1986.While it appears that respect for autonomy has become the fundamental principle in medical ethics, it is not clear what various authors have in mind when they use the term "autonomy." Accounts range from an equation of autonomy with negative freedom to a Kantian emphasis on self-governance. ;My goal here is to characterize that status in persons which we call autonomy and which demands our respect in such applied settings as medicine. What types of behavior must be present for us to honor person…Read more
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69Justifying journalistic Harms: Right to know vs. interest in knowingJournal of Mass Media Ethics 8 (3). 1993.Journalists are regularly criticized for causing harm to others, such as invading privacy, printing, or airing offensive material, and so forth. Although most sensitive journalists readily acknowledge these harms, they frequently argue that the pursuit and coverage of news is nonetheless justified because it fulfills a greater moral purpose - satisfaction of the public's right to know. This article argues that although "the public s right to know" does justify some harmful journalistic behavior,…Read more
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60Clinical ethics consulting and conflict of interest: Structurally intertwinedHastings Center Report 37 (2): 32-40. 2007.Clinical ethical consultants are subject to an unavoidable conflict of interest. Their work requires that they be independent, but incentives attached to their role chip relentlessly at independence. This that they be independent, is a problem without any solution, but it can at least be ameliorated through careful management.
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22The impact of physician denial upon patient autonomy and well-beingJournal of Medical Ethics 18 (3): 135-137. 1992.It is now widely accepted that a patient's ability to engage in autonomous decision-making can be seriously threatened when she denies significant aspects of her medical condition. In this paper I use a true case to reveal the harmful effects of physician denial upon patient autonomy and well-being. I suggest further that such physician denial may be more common than is generally acknowledged, since aspects of the contemporary medical ethos likely serve to reinforce rather than to undercut such …Read more
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26Report CardsJournal of Mass Media Ethics 19 (3-4): 161-165. 2004.This Article does not have an abstract
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53Power, Ethics, and Journalism: Toward an Integrative ApproachJournal of Mass Media Ethics 19 (3-4): 223-246. 2004.Although we think 1 of the basic purposes of journalism is to provide information vital to enhancing citizen autonomy, we also see this goal as being in direct tension with the power news media hold and wield, power that may serve to undercut, rather than enhance, citizen autonomy. We argue that the news media are ethically constrained by proceduralism, resulting in journalists asserting power inappropriately at the individual level, and unwittingly surrendering moral authority institutionally a…Read more
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29Maintaining the violinist: A mother's obligations to the fetus she decides to keepJournal of Social Philosophy 23 (2): 52-64. 1992.
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5A Practical Guide to Clinical Ethics Consulting: Expertise, Ethos, and PowerRowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2007.The philosophical method is critical to ethics consulting. To be truly effective, ethicists need grounding in ethics theory, abstract reasoning and conceptual analysis. A Practical Guide to Clinical Ethics Consulting allows ethicists to understand problems from practitioners' points-of-view, and allows for a genuine appreciation of the working life of practitioners
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22Public Philosophy and Tenure/Promotion: Rethinking "Teaching, Scholarship and Service"Essays in Philosophy 15 (1): 58-76. 2014.One of the responses to the attacks upon the contemporary university, particularly upon the humanities, has been to encourage faculty to engage in so-called ‘public intellectualism.’ In this paper I urge philosophers to embrace this turn, but only if the academy can effectively address how to credit such work in the tenure and promotion process. Currently, public philosophy is typically placed under ‘service’, even though the work is often more intellectually and philosophically rigorous than co…Read more
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33Religious Belief and Surrogate Medical Decision MakingJournal of Clinical Ethics 20 (2): 192-200. 2009.
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24Professionalism, Not ProfessionalsJournal of Mass Media Ethics 27 (3): 189-205. 2012.The proliferation of news and information sources has motivated a need to identify those providing legitimate journalism. One temptation is to go the route of such fields as medicine and law, namely to formally professionalize. This gives a clear method for determining who is a member, with an array of associated responsibilities and rewards. We argue that making such a formal move in journalism is a mistake: Journalism does not meet the traditional criteria, and its core ethos is in conflict wi…Read more
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84Reappreciating W. D. Ross: Naturalizing Prima Facie Duties and a Proposed MethodJournal of Mass Media Ethics 26 (4): 316-331. 2011.The goal of this article is to try to resolve two key problems in the duty-based approach of W. D. Ross: the source of principles and a process for moving from prima facie to actual duty. I use a naturalistic explanation for the former and a nine-step method for making concrete ethical decisions as they could be applied to journalism. Consistent with Ross's position, the process is complicated, particularly in tougher problems, and it cannot guarantee correct choices. Again consistent with Ross,…Read more
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11Communication ethics through 28 lensesJournal of Mass Media Ethics 25 (1). 2010.This Article does not have an abstract
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349Journalism ethics: a philosophical approach (edited book)Oxford University Press. 2010.Since the introduction of radio and television news, journalism has gone through multiple transformations, but each time it has been sustained by a commitment to basic values and best practices. Journalism Ethics is a reminder, a defense and an elucidation of core journalistic values, with particular emphasis on the interplay of theory, conceptual analysis and practice. The book begins with a sophisticated model for ethical decision-making, one that connects classical theories with the central p…Read more
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California State University, BakersfieldDepartment of Philosophy and Religious StudiesRetired faculty