Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
PROFESSIONAL
VIRTUE
AND
EMPATHY
Being fair and advancing the cause of justice is morally admirable. People who devote their lives to
doing the right thing are said to behave virtuously. The classical works of Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant,
et al. make the case for life being a mix of virtues and vices available to humans. Virtue can be defined
as the power to do good or a habit of doing good. In fact, one of Aristotle's most memorable lines is
that “Excellence is habit.” If we do good, we are more likely to keep doing good. Conversely, vice is
the power and habit of doing evil.
Aristotle tried to clarify the dichotomy of good and evil by devising lists of virtues and vices,
which amount to a taxonomy of good and evil. One of the many achievements of Aristotle was his
keen insight as to the similarities of various kinds of living things. He categorized organisms into two
kingdoms, plants and animals. Others no doubt made such observations, but Aristotle documented them.
He formalized and systematized this taxonomy. Such a taxonomic perspective also found its way into
Aristotle's moral philosophy.
Few engineering tragedies have resulted from wanton and nefarious acts, although the attacks of 9/11
and the Oklahoma City federal building bombing are noteworthy examples that the growing likelihood
of such acts must be considered. Most engineering failures have been in large part due to “sins of
omission” rather than from “sins of commission.” Proper safeguards must be extended to include the
externalities and contingencies of our decisions. Is it possible that some future chain of events and
contingencies will result in severe hardship or malady as a result of an action that has eluded us today?
Teachable
Moment:
Albert
Schweitzer
and
the
Reverence
for
Life
A man is truly ethical only when he obeys the compulsion to
help all life which he is able to assist, and shrinks from injuring
anything that lives.
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) was a “missionary surgeon,” but
that characterization falls short. He was also a leader in modern
bioethics. Born in Alsace, he followed the calling of his father
and grandfather and entered into theological studies in 1893 at
the University of Strasbourg where he obtained a doctorate in
philosophy in 1899, with a dissertation on religious philosophy.
He began preaching at St Nicholas Church in Strasbourg in 1899
and served in various high ranking administrative posts. In 1906,
he published
The
Quest
of
the
Historical
Jesus
, a topic on which
much of his fame as a theological scholar rests.
Schweitzer had a parallel career as an organist. He had begun his studies in music at an
early age and performed in his father's church when he was nine-years old. He eventually
become an internationally known interpreter of the organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach. From
his professional engagements, he earned funds for his education, particularly his later medical
schooling.
