Lesson 3

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • “Hippocratic Oath / Physician’s Creed,” BurnFree Global, YouTube, 2013
  • “The Philosophy of Liberty,” Ken Schoolhand, Standard of Freedom, 2014
  • “What Exactly Is the Common Good?,” Duquesne University, YouTube, 2018

• • “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making,” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University, 2015
  • “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making,” Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Markkula Center, Santa Clara University
  • Excerpt from “The Hippocratic Oath,” Louis Lasagna, Public Domain, 1964

Materials

Tools

• Video Note-Taking Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Question Sets

• The Ethics of Public Health Decisions: Section 1 Question Set

Editable Google Docs

• The Ethics of Public Health Decisions: Section 1 Question Set

• Video Note-Taking Tool

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: View – Write

We will view a short video that explains the concept of the common good as an ideal and a moral measure. We will take notes and discuss our understanding of the video’s key ideas.

View the short video "What Exactly is the Common Good?" Use a copy of the Video Note-Taking Tool to write down ideas or images that enhance your understanding of what the common good is or is not, as represented in this video from Duquesne University’s Center for Catholic Faith and Culture.

Activity 2: View – Write

We will view a second short video that offers a philosophical and political perspective on the concept of liberty. We will take notes and compare our understanding of the video’s key ideas.

View the short video "The Philosophy of Liberty," which presents a libertarian view of the rights and responsibilities that come with personal liberty.

Use a copy of the Video Note-Taking Tool to write down ideas or images that enhance your understanding of what personal liberty is, or is not, as viewed from the perspective of someone who values liberty above all.

Activity 3: Discuss – Write

We will compare the perspectives on “Goodness” presented in the four videos we viewed, first in pairs and then as a class. We will again determine which view of the world is closest to our own.

With a partner, compare what you have noted on your Video Note-Taking Tools from Lessons 1 and 2, and discuss what you have learned about the common good and personal liberty.

As a class, discuss the following questions, citing details from the videos to support your answers:

1. What are the different ways in which "goodness" is viewed in the four videos we watched?

2. What are the ethical approaches they explain?

Following the discussion, repeat the exercise you did in a previous lesson to indicate where you now stand in terms of valuing or balancing the common good with personal liberty:

• If you think that the common good should be most important in decision-making, go to the left side of the classroom.

• If you think that personal liberty and individual rights should be most important in decision-making, go to the right side of the classroom.

• If you think that a balance between these two perspectives should be determined to guide decision-making, go to the center of the classroom.

In your Learning Log, reflect on the following:

• what you have learned about the common good and personal liberty

• what your current position is

• whether or not your position has changed since Lesson 1

• why you have either maintained or changed your views

Activity 4: Discuss – Read – Write

We will reread and review “A Framework for Ethical Decision Making,” paying particular attention to what it says about the two ethical approaches we have been studying in relation to a process for making ethically based decisions.

Step 1

With a partner, review "A Framework for Ethical Decision Making," which you read for homework. Discuss and compare your responses to the following text-specific questions:

1. What is one thing that stands out to you in the framework’s discussion of what ethics is not?

2. What are the five sources of ethical standards presented in the framework? How do these connect to previous reading and thinking you have done? Cite evidence from the texts to support your answers.

3. What does the framework suggest are required for making good ethical decisions?

4. What words from the text did you add to your Vocabulary Journal? How are they related to the central ideas of the text?

Step 2

As a class, review the five approaches to ethical decision-making summarized in the framework. Discuss how each relates, directly or indirectly, to balancing the common good with personal liberty.

Review the five organizing steps outlined in the framework:

• Recognize an ethical issue.

• Get the facts.

• Evaluate alternative actions.

• Make a decision and test it.

• Act and reflect on the outcome.

Discuss the ways these steps and the sub-steps listed under each heading are similar to, and different from, the ways in which most of us make ethical decisions. Discuss what it might mean to apply them when faced with an ethical dilemma or decision.

Write down your reflections in your Learning Log.

Activity 5: Discuss – View

We will view a short video that uses a series of black and white photos to celebrate the modern Hippocratic Oath, the Physician’s Creed and framework for ethical practice.

View the video collage titled "Hippocratic Oath / Physician’s Creed."

After viewing, discuss your reactions to the video. Share what you know or what questions you have about the Hippocratic Oath as an ethical pledge that guides the work of doctors.

Activity 6: Discuss – Read – Write

We will do a close reading of a modern version of the Hippocratic Oath, discussing how it embraces a commitment to both the common good and individual rights.

Access the "The Hippocratic Oath" by Louis Lasagna in the Unit Reader.

Join with a partner, and individually do a close reading of the oath. While you read, consider the following questions, with one partner focusing on Question 2 and the other on Question 3. You will compare your findings after reading.

1. What is one pledge in the oath that really stands out to you? Why?

2. Where in the oath do you see a physician committing to the common good? Annotate these places.

3. Where in the oath do you see a physician committing to respecting individual patient rights? Annotate these places.

After reading and annotating the oath, make a T-chart like the one in Lesson 1, with two columns labeled "Common Good" and "Individual Rights." With your partner, write down and compare what you each have found about either the common good or individual rights.

Together, form and articulate an evidence-based claim that addresses the following question:

4. In what ways does the Hippocratic Oath balance a commitment to the common good with respect for individual rights?

Share your claim with the class, and discuss your thoughts about the Hippocratic Oath and its purpose as an ethical compass for doctors. Write down your reflections in your Learning Log.

Activity 7: Read – Write

For homework, we will further explore a PBS Nova article “The Hippocratic Oath Today,” then navigate one of several public health websites to determine current issues and questions related to the ethics of public health decision making.

For homework, access the online PBS NOVA article on "The Hippocratic Oath Today" and read the introductory section titled: The Oath: Meaningless Relic or Invaluable Guide? After reading, write in your Learning Log whether you view the oath as a relic or a guide.

Go to a website concerned with infectious diseases in the US, such as the following:

• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) site

• The College of Physicians of Philadelphia History of Vaccines site

• Another relevant site identified or assigned by your teacher

Navigate the website, noting the pages, media, and links it provides access to. Explore topics and pages that interest you. Make notes about what you find that can be shared with other students.

Formulate a question about a major ethical issue in public health suggested by your exploration of the website. Frame your question as a "should question” for which there might be more than one perspective and answer, for example, "Should vaccination be mandated to prevent the spreading of infectious diseases?"