: Knowledge Has an Ethical Responsibility

Knowledge is a complex subject when it comes to ethics. Ethical conduct in itself is a principle of deciding what is right or wrong, a moral conception that is affected by oneself, others and the society as a whole. Ethical boundaries have no justifiable lengths from a singular perspective and may vary based upon such factors as culture, religion, background, society, etc. Ethics and knowledge come into play when discerning on the type of knowledge, the source of the knowledge and the effects the knowledge would have if shared (Morais 2011).
These factors would determine the ethical repercussions of any action taken about the knowledge. Ways of knowing and areas of knowledge play a crucial role in determining the ethical implications of how we use knowledge. By understanding these two effective but relative operations when it comes to the subject of knowledge, it will hence be possible to discern whether or not the possession of knowledge carries an ethical responsibility.Ways of knowing refer to the methodology through which one acquires knowledge (Harris, 2007).
A person acquires knowledge in various ways. Learning becomes crucial in the formation of truths and norms. Perceptions are ways in which we gain knowledge through previously shaped thoughts by culture or language. Perceptions dictate one’s attitude towards a subject or matter and have the role of enforcing prejudice concerning the way we perceive/approach an individual issue. How we view certain information and knowledge that we hold, our perception of ethics and morality will determine whether or not knowledge will carry an ethical responsibility. Knowledge will only take an ethical responsibility if the experience goes against the perceiver’s perception of what is ethically right or wrong.
Emotions play a crucial role in determining knowledge and how we perceive it. Emotions can explain actions and it is from here that one can be able to decode whether or not the possession of certain knowledge carry’s ethical responsibility. Ethics can be impacted by emotions since emotions can dictate utilization of knowledge. The emotion of love, for example, has been commonly used in aiding and abetting a criminal to escape or avoid capture (Morais 2011).
Ethically, emotion has been refuted as a measure of knowledge handling since emotion obscures objectivity and soberness in knowledge handling. Possession of knowledge has an implicit and explicit ethical responsibility on individuals and groups. Possession of knowledge dictates that a person can discern between right and wrong based on individual criteria and hence has an individual cannot absolve themselves from blame. How an individual exercises their knowledge is what may bring about a different debate of whether the actions are ethical or not. Possession of knowledge may vary among individuals, yet the burden of responsibility lies with the possessor of the knowledge and determines whether actions are ethical or not to others but not to themselves (Eide, 2004).
This means that the utility of knowledge possessed is what determines the ethical nature of actions; while the possession of knowledge in itself requires ethical responsibility.
Ethical responsibility is no mean task and is affected by various determinants. Knowledge is also a varied discipline and affects cognitive actions. An individual’s knowledge of ethics is, however, the most prudent tool of gauging ethical responsibility about knowledge. An individual’s perception of right and wrong, their beliefs of the same and the practice of society remain all factors, which come into play in discerning the ethics of actions. Knowledge should be utilized in a manner that is beneficial to all and not just a few. But is this ethical approach to understanding the basis by which everyone should abide? Ethical responsibility is an individualistic trait and so is knowledge, and hence moral responsibility should be gauged individually based on the amount of knowledge that one has.
Article II: Medical and Moral Ethics of Transgender Surgery in Children
Gender remains a human social organization of distinction by sex for conducts, roles, features, looks, and identities that shape cultural connotations and customs regarding both gender and sex on human physiques. Everybody has an intuitive understanding of gender identity. Most individual‘s gender identity remains according to their assigned sexual orientation, but most people regard their identity as a dissonant with their biological sex. However, this the reason why transsexual matters along with sexual reassignment surgery are getting a tremendous agreement of consideration and support in the schools, media, administration, and in health specialists in the present day. A small but rising number of younger children and teenagers who ponder that they were born within a correct sex are receiving backing from parents and physicians who provide them with sex-changing interventions. This has remained an issue, which raises ethical queries, and some professionals urge care to be taken in the management of children with hormones and drugs, and even transgender surgery (The Associated Press, 2012).
Doctors typically need that whichever transgender person who needs a therapeutic intervention be evaluated first by a psychiatric healthcare provider. A note may be demanded that states that the patient’s mental health would recover from a gender construction. In the last 2-3 years, numerous medical associations have reported on the medical requirement of transitional transgender care. Despite the fact that still rather stigmatizing, a gender dysphoria diagnosis warrants that more transgender children services will be ensured. The permissible position of children and grown-ups poses perplexing challenges for courts globally (Boghanz, 2015). However, with public cognizance of a snowballing number of individuals undertaking transsexual transformation, this need will likewise rise. About a decade ago, the European Federal Human Rights Court, given a case conveyed before it from the UK maintained the postoperative rights of transsexuals to be renowned as individuals of their postoperative sex as well as to get the whole rights linked to their attained sex. It is factual with comparable verdicts in other nations; the U.S.as well is supposed to be familiar with the human rights incorporated and provide total rights to those people with a transsexual disorder. Furthermore, for the reason that the change, particularly in childhood as well as adolescence, is capable of being lengthened besides surgery is progressively unnecessarily the last resort, it remains far improved, instead of accommodating obsolete perceptions, to welcome advanced methodical considerations of identity progress as well as to identify an extensive array of gender disparity as a certainty of the human form (TAP, 2012).
Physicians prescribing medications (in this case puberty blockers) to children with transgender give reasons that they give gender dysphoric children the right to feel they are bearing the wrong identity. However, what makes this complex, no investigation is administered to the child to diagnose distress concerning their gender identity that shows the child will grow to be transgender. Some researches studies, which fail to exist, recommend that gender dysphoria remained persistent in some kids, nevertheless they then consisted of precisely some of them besides were, accomplished typically overseas (Colene, 2011).
Presently, transgender is categorized as a mental condition. Therefore, many persons may disregard the dispute for transgender surgery basing on the fact surgery is not supposed to be employed for conditions, which are mainly psychiatric. Consideration of surgery as a likely therapeutic choice for transgender children would be medicalization of gender alteration. Therefore, with a therapeutic resolution to a condition that is not medical, it is profligate remains appreciated healthcare resources as well as totally illogical (Colene, 2011).
Article III: Ethics
Ethics is a complex subject and is filled with conflicting views. This is because of ethics borders on the laws of morality, the determinant of which varies with every perspective that is taken by each person.  Ethics remains a norm that decides right/wrong, a moral notion impacted by an individual’s self, others as well as the society as a whole. Ideally, moral limits do not have appropriate extents from a singular viewpoint besides it may differ about factors like society and culture among others (Barnes, 1976).
Virtue ethics as posited by Aristotle was the practice of making decisions that brought out the best in a situation. Christopher Taylor in Skorupski (2010) quotes Aristotle in defining virtue ethics and notes that it remains impossible to be good in a sound sense with no practical understanding (Skorupski, 2010). Virtues are dependent on one’s character which influences choices made. Virtues require practical wisdom which in essence means making a choice based on an assessment of a situation and situational analysis then making a personal judgment of what is wrong or right based on the situation. Virtue ethics depicts the rationality of a decision made, whether morally acceptable or not, legally correct or not. Frankena (1963) also contributes to Aristotle’s virtue ethics by explaining the underlying meaning of eudemonia and translating it to happiness. Aristotle’s definition of happiness differs from the modern perspective of being happy; it is a state of practicing virtue in all a person’s actions to enhance their outlook from a moral perspective and aid in the formation of a moral character (Frankena, 1963).
The use of practical wisdom and virtue ethics does not, however, guarantee absolution from blame. It does not dictate that actions are always right or good, but it provides a basis from which rational thinking flourishes (Audi, 1997). Some other ethical principles may counter this decision. The rule of natural law out rightly views “nomophobia” as a far-reaching disorder a person will remain uneasy when he/she is not having a mobile phone with or him/her all the time. Natural law dictates that one should endeavour to do well and avoid evil. However, this is an abstract argument since these two terms are relative and subject to context.  From a deontological perspective which posits that duty dictates ethical behaviour, “nomophobia” may be regarded ethical. Deontology also advocates for reason and autonomy in justification of duty and conformity to morality.

 

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