Analysis of the Scenario "At the cost of Personality"

Table of Contents

noun-attention-4961796 Spoiler Alert — This page provides an analysis of the scenario. It shall help players or educators who have found an own approach to the scenario's problem and now want to compare it to a broader picture. It should not be read before playing the scenario.

Reference solution

Info This section repeats the proposed solution provided with the game (i.e. on the game cards).

Moral Questions

  1. Is it ethically justifiable to use the experimental treatment? What conditions would need to be met?
  2. Is it ethically justifiable to (further) risk the health
of an individual in order to achieve a potential
benefit for the general public?

Final Actions

Prohibited

  • It is ethically unacceptable to initiate a medical procedure without the consent of the patient (or at least the patient's relatives).
  • It is ethically questionable not to even suggest the potential treatment to the patient/relative. Although it is unclear whether fully informed and free consent can be obtained, the potential treatment should be discussed.

Maybe allowed

  • It may be ethically permissible to use the experimental treat-ment if the patient's close relatives give their informed consent. Given the serious risks and pressures of the situation, this option remains ethically questionable (or even impermissible).
  • Given the dangers to the general public and the fact that the patient is a secret agent, experimental treatment may be ethically permissible. (This is a consequentialist argument, with the usual shortcomings of this kind of argument.)

Permissible

  • It is ethically permissible to consult other experts to learn more about the risk of adverse effects and their likelihood in a particular case. [But: secret project].
  • It is ethically permissible to consult the patient's close relatives to explore her possible wishes in the situation (since she cannot communicate herself). [But: secret project].

Further reflections

Info This section provides further reflections on aspects of the problem that are not discussed in the short solution provided with the game. This shall help players to think further or to understand how their own solutions fit within a larger picture.

noun-traffic-cone-736151 This page is still work in progress. We will add the missing content as fast as possible, but we prefer to produce a useful analysis before we publish it.
 

Add a comment