Topic: Tuskegee Syphilis Study
Your topic should be clear and succinct and pose an ethical issue within healthcare.
Give a Thesis statement and how the full principles play into it. Write About 3 paragraphs
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 Tuskegee Syphilis Study: Ethical Violations in Healthcare
Thesis Statement:
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, conducted by the United States Public Health Service from 1932 to 1972, poses a significant ethical issue within healthcare due to its flagrant disregard for the principles of beneficence, autonomy, and justice. This study, which involved withholding treatment from African American men with syphilis in order to observe the progression of the disease, violated the fundamental ethical principles that govern medical research and patient care.
Beneficence:
The principle of beneficence emphasizes the obligation of healthcare providers to act in the best interests of their patients and ensure their well-being. In the case of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, this principle was blatantly disregarded as the researchers chose to prioritize their study objectives over the health and welfare of the participants. By denying the men access to appropriate treatment for their syphilis, the researchers failed to uphold their duty to do no harm and promote the participants’ health.
Autonomy:
Autonomy, or the right of individuals to make informed decisions about their own healthcare, was also grossly violated in the Tuskegee study. The participants were not informed of the true nature of the study, nor were they given the opportunity to consent or withdraw from participation. Their autonomy was undermined by the researchers’ deceitful practices, which deprived them of the ability to make choices about their own bodies and health care.
Justice:
The principle of justice requires that healthcare resources and benefits be distributed fairly and equitably among all individuals. In the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, justice was compromised as the vulnerable African American men were deliberately selected as subjects due to their socioeconomic status and lack of access to adequate healthcare. This exploitative practice perpetuated existing inequalities and injustices within the healthcare system, highlighting the need for greater vigilance in ensuring that all research participants are treated with respect and fairness.
