Consider a recent advancement in healthcare technology, such as gene editing, AI diagnostics, or telemedicine. Discuss how different ethical frameworks (such as utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics) would evaluate the development and implementation of this technology. Address the following points in your discussion:
Potential Benefits and Harms: What are the potential benefits and harms of the technology to individuals and society? How might each ethical framework assess these outcomes?
Rights and Responsibilities: Who has the rights to access or refuse the technology? What responsibilities do developers and healthcare providers have in ensuring the technology is used ethically?
Justice and Fairness: Consider how the technology might affect different populations. Are there concerns about equitable access or impacts on certain groups that might be viewed differently through each ethical lens?
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The Ethical Evaluation of Gene Editing Technology in Healthcare
Gene editing technology has emerged as a groundbreaking advancement in healthcare, offering the potential to treat genetic disorders and improve overall health outcomes. When considering this technology through different ethical frameworks, namely utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics, various perspectives on its development and implementation come to light.
Potential Benefits and Harms: Utilitarianism would focus on maximizing the overall happiness and well-being of individuals and society. Gene editing’s potential benefits in curing genetic diseases could align with this framework. Deontology, on the other hand, might emphasize the importance of respecting individual autonomy and dignity, raising concerns about unintended consequences and long-term impacts. Virtue ethics may highlight the intention behind using gene editing technology and whether it promotes virtues like compassion and justice.
Rights and Responsibilities: Discussions around rights to access gene editing technology may involve considerations of affordability, consent, and equity. Developers and healthcare providers bear the responsibility of ensuring informed consent, data privacy, and equitable distribution of technology to avoid exacerbating existing disparities in healthcare access.
Justice and Fairness: Equitable access to gene editing technology is crucial for justice. Utilitarianism may prioritize widespread access to maximize benefits, while deontology might stress equal treatment and protection of vulnerable populations. Virtue ethics could emphasize the need for empathy and fairness in addressing disparities in technology access.
In conclusion, the evaluation of gene editing technology in healthcare through diverse ethical frameworks underscores the complexity of balancing potential benefits, individual rights, and societal responsibilities. Striking a harmonious equilibrium between these considerations is paramount for the ethical development and implementation of such transformative technologies.
