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Spring 2002
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Fine-Tuning The
Psyche
Mr. L works hard but is less productive
than he would like to be at his job. He approaches his doctor with a
request for a prescription for a drug that will affect his brain’s
chemistry in such a way that Mr. L will work more effectively. The doctor
feels uncomfortable with this request, and so he refers Mr. L to a
psychiatrist, Dr. G.
Is it morally wrong to
prescribe a drug or treatment if a patient is not suffering from an
illness or injury? Would the psychiatrist be indulging wishes rather
than treating illness?
Is the enhancement of
functioning an acceptable goal for health care professionals? Who should
be permitted to determine which enhancements, if any, are acceptable?
Should patients have some input about this?
Would it be unprofessional for
Dr. G to diagnose Mr. L as having an anxiety disorder or mild depression
to justify prescribing the drug? Why?
Dr. G needs to decide whether
Mr. L has a mental disorder, and if so, what his diagnosis is before he
can prescribe any medication. Unfortunately, none of the standard
classifications seems applicable to Mr. L’s case. Should this
automatically prevent Dr. G from prescribing anything?
Suppose Mr. L’s work had been
assessed as marginal, and he had reason to think that his continued
employment depended on an increased performance level at work. Would
this change the ethics of the situation?
Suppose instead of work
enhancement Mr. L sought help for enhancement of his sense of
well-being. Would that be less ethically acceptable? If so, why? If
heightening one’s sense of well-being seems questionable, then would it
be wrong for the psychiatrist to recommend that Mr. L try a glass of
wine after getting home from work?
How should we think about the
rightness or wrongness of prescribing, recommending, or making use of
the following?
The drug Viagra.
Human Growth hormones in
people of different heights.
Germ-line treatments to
eliminate diseases or to enhance people’s lives.
Should only physicians be
permitted to prescribe drugs? Some psychologists have argued that they
should be allowed to prescribe for some sorts of mental disorders that
they treat. Would this acceptable or irresponsible? What factual
information might enable one to decide these questions?
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Course
Overview