Exploring Bioethics - NIH Office of Science Education - National ...

they can see that such considerations are widely sharedacross different religions and cultures. Ask students whoadopt positions based on religious beliefs to marshal theevidence that supports their positions, because someday, they may need to explain their positions to anotherperson who may not have the same commitments. Notethat making solid and persuasive arguments is especiallyimportant if the student believes that society atlarge should follow his or her ethical standards.Prompts to encourage reflection• “Yes, religion has many useful teachings, anddeep, underlying ethical considerations often playa role in them.”• “Which ethical considerations do you think arereflected in those teachings?”Respond Thoughtfully to UnrelentingEthical RelativismYou must exercise care to help students avoid confusingtolerance with subjectivism and relativism. A clearindication that a student is experiencing this confusionis when you hear this: “I am entitled to my opinion andyou’re entitled to your opinion, but no one opinion isbetter than any other.” Another common statement thatshows confusion between tolerance and relativism is,“That’s the way it is done in their culture, so who am I tojudge?” That statement precludes ethical assessment ofslavery or genocide.Prompts to help students move beyond a simplisticbelief that all justifications are equally strong• “Do you think that all justifications are equally strong? Why or why not?”• “Is there ever any way to know which justificationsare better? What is it?”• “Are there certain practices that we can all agree areethically wrong? If so, what are some examples?Why do we agree that these are ethically wrong?”While you should encourage students to tolerate andrespect many different views, they must recognize thatnot all behaviors are equally ethically appropriate andnot all justifications are equally strong. In addition,students must be knowledgeable about justificationsoffered by other students so they can support or justifytheir own positions and explain how and why theirviews may differ. They ought to be able to explain whythey themselves hold this particular position ratherthan another, even if they believe that all such positionsare simply a matter of personal belief or cultural custom.In addition, by listening to other viewpoints, theymay come to see things differently.Students must recognize that not all behaviorsare equally ethically appropriate and not alljustifications are equally strong.Respond to Students’ Blanket Insistenceon RightsDuring discussions, you may hear students say, “That’sjust my right. It’s a free country, isn’t it?” Help studentsarticulate the ethical considerations that underlie theirbelief that the intended behavior is a right. Also, helpthem see the implications for others.Prompts to help students move beyond using rightsas a term that may cut off further discussion• “What if your exercising that right hurt yourneighbor?”• “You must see something here that is clearlyimportant. Can you describe it?”• “Which of the core ethical considerations do youthink is at stake here?”• “What duties or obligations should be associatedwith this right?”• “If you exercised that right, what implicationswould it have for other individuals and for thecommunity at large?”• “What if every individual exercised that right?What implications would there be for other individualsand communities?”Encourage Careful ReasoningStudents may need extra support not only in providingreasons for their positions, but also in ensuringthat their conclusions flow logically from their reasons.Prompt students to draw on the relevant scientific facts;the social, economic, and historical contexts; the coreethical considerations; other relevant considerations;and their own values in coming to their conclusions.Introduction15