•  7
    The Professional Ethics Toolkit is an engaging and accessible guide to the study of moral issues in professional life through the analysis of ethical dilemmas faced by people working in medicine, law, social work, business, and other industries where conflicting interests and ideas complicate professional practice and decision-making. Written by a seasoned ethicist and professional consultant, the volume uses philosophical ideas, theories, and principles to develop and articulate a definitive me…Read more
  •  41
    A Defense of the Philosopher-Ethicist as Moral Expert
    Journal of Clinical Ethics 14 (4): 259-269. 2003.
  •  140
    The virtue of cold-heartedness
    Philosophical Studies 138 (2). 2008.
    I defend a strong version of the Kantian claim that actions done solely from duty have moral worth by (1) considering pure cases of acting from duty, (2) showing that love and sympathy, unlike a sense of duty, can often lead us to do the wrong thing, (3) carefully distinguishing moral from non-moral virtues, and (4) by distinguishing pathological sympathy from practical sympathy. Not only is acting purely from a sense of duty superior to acting from love and sympathetic feelings, but the cold-he…Read more
  •  79
    Nature, Virtue, and the Nature of Virtue
    Southwest Philosophy Review 26 (1): 109-117. 2010.
    Most of the philosophical work written on environmental issues focuses on notions such as rights, consequences, duties, etc. And most of the theoretical philosophy done in environmental ethics focuses on questions of whether animals, plants, or ecosystems have inherent value or moral standing independently of their usefulness to humans. A character-based approach has been largely neglected (despite a few important works). In this paper, I consider what a plausible environmental virtue ethics wou…Read more
  •  64
    In deriving his moral code, Hobbes does not appeal to any mind-independent good, natural human telos, or innate human sympathies. Instead he assumes a subjectivist theory of value and an egoistic theory of human motivation. Some critics, however, doubt that his laws of nature can be constructed from such scant material. Hobbes ultimately justifies the acceptance of moral laws by the fact that they promote self-preservation. But, as Hobbes himself acknowledges, not everyone prefers survival over …Read more
  •  102
    Defending Moral Realism from Empirical Evidence of Disagreement
    Social Theory and Practice 39 (3): 373-396. 2013.
    Recently, empirically minded philosophers have employed evidence of widespread, fundamental moral disagreement to argue against moral realism. I argue that the empirical evidence does not refute realism because the disagreement is consistent with certain pluralistic versions of moral realism that posit a set of pro tanto normative principles. Others have appealed to pluralism in defense of moral realism but have used pluralism to attack the empirically based approach to ethical theory. Although …Read more
  •  46
    Cognitive neuroenhancement involves the use of medical interventions to improve normal cognitive functioning such as memory, focus, concentration, or willpower. In this paper I give a Kantian argument defending the use of CNE in science, scholarly research, and creative fields. Kant’s universal law formulation of the categorical imperative shows why enhancement is morally wrong in the familiar contexts of sports or competitive games. This argument, however, does not apply to the use of CNE in hi…Read more
  •  5
    Justifying Clinical Deception: Some Amendments to Brummett and Salter
    Hastings Center Report 53 (1): 26-27. 2023.
    In Abram Brummett and Erica K. Salter's excellent paper, “Mapping the Moral Terrain of Clinical Deception,” they rightly note that it is sometimes ethically appropriate for health care professionals to deceive patients and families. However, they also note that because doing so violates a prima facie duty of honesty, the ethical burden of proof falls upon the deceiver. Hence, they also provide a sophisticated framework for determining whether any given case is warranted. I applaud their overall …Read more
  •  3
    The Ethics of Ethics Centers
    Teaching Ethics 21 (2): 143-148. 2021.
    Editor's Note: Among the core activities of many ethics centers has been helping organizations – businesses, healthcare institutions, professional bodies – evaluate and improve their ethical structures and practices. Much of that work has resulted in incisive and valued critiques that guide practitioners through tough ethics thickets. It has also produced reams of published material and considerable consulting income. All of which points to a telling irony: There is almost no such published an…Read more
  •  10
    Activism and the Clinical Ethicist
    Hastings Center Report 51 (4): 22-31. 2021.
    Although clinical ethics scholarship and practice has largely avoided assuming an activist stance, the many health care crises of the last eighteen months motivated a distinct change: On listserves, in blog postings, and in published essays, activist language has permeated conversations over such issues as the impact of triage policies on persons with disabilities and of color, and how the health care system has historically failed African Americans. In this paper, I defend this turn, arguing th…Read more
  •  9
    Ethicists’ Deception: Theory, Role, Concepts, and Applications
    American Journal of Bioethics 21 (5). 2021.
    I am grateful to colleagues for their comments on my target article ; they are almost uniformly insightful, telling, and helpful. In this brief response, I extend the discussion on, in order...
  •  14
    The Covid-19 pandemic has presented major challenges to society, exposing preexisting ethical weaknesses in the modern social fabric’s ability to respond. Distrust in government and a lessened authority of science to determine facts have both been exacerbated by the polarization and disinformation enhanced by social media. These have impaired society’s willingness to comply with and persevere with social distancing, which has been the most powerful initial response to mitigate the pandemic. Thes…Read more
  •  30
    Deception and the Clinical Ethicist
    American Journal of Bioethics 21 (5): 4-12. 2021.
    Lying to one’s patients is wrong. So obvious as to border on a platitude, this truism is one that bioethicists have heartily endorsed for several decades. Deception, the standard line holds, underc...
  •  28
    The Corporation, Its Members, and Moral Accountability
    Business and Professional Ethics Journal 3 (1): 33-44. 1983.
  •  61
    Objective reporting was once among the foundational norms of U.S. journalism. The emergence of alternative and economically successful partisan models exemplified by Fox News, talk radio, and a ran...
  •  27
    Ethics Across the Curriculum—Pedagogical Perspectives
    with Elaine E. Englehardt, Michael S. Pritchard, Robert Baker, Michael D. Burroughs, José A. Cruz-Cruz, Randall Curren, Michael Davis, Aine Donovan, Deni Elliott, Karin D. Ellison, Challie Facemire, William J. Frey, Joseph R. Herkert, Karlana June, Robert F. Ladenson, Glen Miller, Deborah S. Mower, Lisa H. Newton, David T. Ozar, Alan A. Preti, Wade L. Robison, Brian Schrag, Alan Tomhave, Phyllis Vandenberg, Mark Vopat, Sandy Woodson, Daniel E. Wueste, and Qin Zhu
    Springer Verlag. 2018.
    Late in 1990, the Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at Illinois Institute of Technology (lIT) received a grant of more than $200,000 from the National Science Foundation to try a campus-wide approach to integrating professional ethics into its technical curriculum.! Enough has now been accomplished to draw some tentative conclusions. I am the grant's principal investigator. In this paper, I shall describe what we at lIT did, what we learned, and what others, especially phil…Read more
  •  5
    Realism, Correspondence, and Expertise
    American Journal of Bioethics 19 (11): 76-77. 2019.
    Volume 19, Issue 11, November 2019, Page 76-77.
  •  130
    Appreciating W. D. Ross:On Duties and Consequences
    Journal of Mass Media Ethics 18 (2): 81-97. 2003.
    In this article I describe the theoretical underpinnings of 20th-century British philosopher W. D. Ross's approach to linking deontological and teleological decision making. I attempt to fill in what Ross left on the whole unanswered, that is, how to use his duties to resolve dilemmas. A case study in journalism demonstrates how to apply the theory. I conclude with an analysis of what I take to be the strengths and weaknesses in Ross's theory.
  •  29
    Creating an Effective Newspaper Ombudsman Position
    Journal of Mass Media Ethics 15 (4): 248-256. 2000.
    In this article I argue, first, that genuinely effective ombudsmen could help restore news credibility-thereby staving off other, more intrusive external intervention-and that the position must have true sanctioning authority, much like that of the ethics officer in many corporations. I also argue that the effective ombudsman will be one who sufficiently understands the workings of journalism but who is not immersed in its ethos. This distancing is necessary for genuine critical appraisal to be …Read more
  •  26
    Universals Without Absolutes: A Theory of Media Ethics
    Journal of Media Ethics 31 (4): 198-214. 2016.
    The global turn in media ethics has presented a tough challenge for traditional models of moral theory: How do we assert common moral standards while also showing respect for the values of those from outside the Western tradition? The danger lies in advocating for either extreme: reason-dependent absolutism or cultural relativism. In this paper, I reject Cliff Christian’s attempts to solve the problem and propose instead a moral theory of universal standards that are discovered via a mix of rati…Read more
  •  1
    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
  •  64
    Justifying journalistic Harms: Right to know vs. interest in knowing
    Journal 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
  •  50
    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.
  •  21
    The impact of physician denial upon patient autonomy and well-being
    Journal 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
  •  51
    Conscientious objection? Yes, but make sure it is genuine
    with Robert D. Woods
    American Journal of Bioethics 7 (6). 2007.
    This Article does not have an abstract
  •  14
    Personhood: Empirical Thing or Rational Concept?
    American Journal of Bioethics 7 (1): 63-65. 2007.
  •  127
    An obligation to provide abortion services: what happens when physicians refuse?
    with R. D. Woods
    Journal of Medical Ethics 22 (2): 115-120. 1996.
    Access to abortion services in the United States continues to decline. It does so not because of significant changes in legislation or court rulings but because fewer and fewer physicians wish to perform abortions and because most states now have "conscientious objection" legislation that makes it easy for physicians to refuse to do so. We argue in this paper that physicians have an obligation to perform all socially sanctioned medical services, including abortions, and thus that the burden of j…Read more