Paternalism Research Paper

534 Words3 Pages

What does paternalism mean?

Paternalism is the interference of a state or an individual with another person, against their will, and protected or motivated by a claim that the person delayed with will be better off or protected from harm. The issue of paternalism rises with respect to limitations by the law such as anti-drug legislation, the required wearing of seatbelts, and in medical contexts by the suppression of relevant information concerning a patient’s condition by physicians. At the theoretical level it raises questions of how persons should be treated when they are less than fully rational.

What does victim blaming mean?

Victim blaming is when an individual is held responsible for their health behaviour. They are considered to have created their own health problems and the solution lies with …show more content…

Attention to rights ensures that the freedom and well-being of each individual will be protected when others threaten that freedom or well-being. If an individual has a moral right, then it is morally wrong to interfere with that right even if large numbers of people would benefit from such interference. But rights should not be the sole consideration in ethical decision-making. In some instances, the social costs or the injustice that would result from respecting a right are too great, and accordingly, that right may need to be limited. Moreover, an emphasis on rights tends to limit our vision of what the moral life entails. Morality, it 's often argued, is not just a matter of not interfering with the rights of others. Relying exclusively on a rights approach to ethics tends to emphasize the individual at the expense of the community. And, while morality does call on us to respect the uniqueness, dignity, and autonomy of each individual, it also invites us to recognize our relatedness that sense of community, shared values, and the common good which lends itself to an ethics of care, compassion, and concern for