A Dental Ethics Blog
Plato argues by analogy that a leader is someone that must act in the best interest of her subjects in The Republic. He says a ship captain takes care of her crew, a farmer of her sheep, and a doctor of her patients. In this article, we will look at the claim that the first…
The purpose for this article is to explore the idea that things have innate purposes. The idea of the final cause (purpose) is left out of most scientific conversations except when it comes to biological phenotypes. The classic examples are that the eyes are for seeing and the teeth are for chewing. This intuitively makes…
In this article I will explore the concept of altruism, giving to and helping others. Altruism will be critiqued based on one of the leading ethical theories on motivation, egotism. We will will explore ethical and ontological defenses, as well as, give a Kantian understanding of altruism. Egotism Egotism is the ethical theory that one…
In this article, we will discuss the age old question: “Do I have to floss?”. I will give an analysis of the understanding of the term “have to” in terms of physical necessity and moral obligation. The discussion will be tailored to a introductory audience on the topic of hypothetical and categorical imperatives. It may…
In this article, I will critique the common sense notion that all our desires are one’s own and give us a sense of self. The second section will acknowledge how we can come to know an intelligible self and its desires through practical reason. The corollary establishes the foundations of pure desire that will tell…
In the Ethical Moment feature “Ethical issues when a dentist with an active practice dies,” Dr. Jill M. Burns, referencing the ADA code of ethics, suggested that dentists are obligated to inform staff of practice debt due to the “ethical obligation to ‘provide a workplace environment that supports respectful and collaborative relationships for all those…
The following was a question submitted by a student at Northern Michigan University. Please use the “contact us” page to make a submission of articles or questions that will be posted on this blog website. Question: If a person has a dental procedure (extraction and bone graft) by an “out of town” surgeon, returns home and…
This blog post will help to develop understanding of the concept of autonomy and its importance to ethics. We will juxtapose it with the concept of personal choice. Respect for autonomy is a very important principle in dental bioethics but it is often conceived as respect for personal choice. While modern day ethics is colloquial…
Philosophy of language is the third tripartite in the hierarchical foundations of philosophy. Every philosophical subject (ethics, religion, etc.) can be expressed as a “what is…?” question, “how do we know what is…?”, or a “how to express our knowledge of what…?”. Mindfulness of language selection is important in dentistry when it comes to dealing…
Mindfulness Mindfulness is a psychological and spiritual perspective that helps people to relieve anxiety and depression through more thoughtful examination of one’s thought processes and lifestyle. From a philosophical perspective, I hope to outline the rational foundations for one aspect of “negative” thinking: mind reading. We will explore the epistemological and the practical issues with…