Beneficence
Another of the principles defined by Beauchamp & Childress (1992), beneficence should be understood as more than non-maleficence and distinct from value and benefit. A professional demonstrates beneficence toward their client "not only by respecting their decisions and protecting them from harm, but also by making efforts to secure their well-being." Moreover, "beneficence is understood in a stronger sense, as an obligation." It's intended as a combination of "do no harm" and "maximize benefits and minimize harm", with the recognition that even the determination of what is harmful might create a risk of harm (DHEW, 1978:6-7).
In a number of ethical codes, beneficence can be thought of as "the principle of acting with the best interest of the other in mind\x94 (Aldcroft, 2012). This is more than merely the idea of doing good for someone, it is the idea that the role of the professional is to prioritize the best interest of their client (BACB, 2015; AMA, 2001; CPA, 2017). The principle of beneficence is also raised with respect to AI (Floridi, et.al, 2018:16; Stevens & Silbey, 2014), however, in the precise statement of these principles it is unclear how they should be applied. For example, should 'the common good' is included in the principle of beneficence? Should AI promote social justice, or merely be developed consistently with the principles of social justice?
Found In...
Examples and Articles
Do you have another example of Beneficence? Suggest it here
- Course Outline
- Course Newsletter
- Activity Centre
- -1. Getting Ready
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Applications of Learning Analytics
- 3. Ethical Issues in Learning Analytics
- 4. Ethical Codes
- 5. Approaches to Ethics
- 6. The Duty of Care
- 7. The Decisions We Make
- 8. Ethical Practices in Learning Analytics
- Videos
- Podcast
- Course Events
- Your Feeds
- Submit Feed
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service