Bowie
When doctors are studying science and testing certain operations on patients, they could sometimes not think about the decisions or consequences about the treatment or operation. Or you could say they weren't thinking as ethically like a doctor should. Which ethically means the intelligence of ones mind and thoughts on any decisions that impact their life or another's life. Charlie Gordon is a character in the story "Flowers For Algernon", and he did not have the most intelligence. So, Doctor Nemur and Strauss took him in without thinking logically or ethically. Charlie Gordon's doctors did not act ethically when they performed surgery to make him smarter.
Doctor Nemur and Strauss didn't question themselves on what is best and harmless
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However, that's still not acceptable for doctors to do, especially with experimenting certain tests and operations on the patient. Also, Doctor Nemur and Strauss did proceed with the operation, but later gave him an unstable limbic system and failure in the nervous system. Which shows that the doctors weren't thinking of any future conflicts that would put Charlie in a harmful state of mind. They also kept Algernon dying confidential to Charlie since they both got the same operation, and the doctors weren't thinking ethically if they couldn't even share it to Charlie (Dobrin). Overall, Doctor Nemur and Strauss did motivate him to start making himself smart again in the end, but they should've thought about future conflicts that the operation would put on Charlie that would effect his mental health.
It is important for doctors to think ethically about any situation that could effect their lives and the patients life. Because, Doctor Nemur and Strauss were not thinking anything about how much it would effect Charlie, and how much the operation would confuse or disorganize Charlie's mental health. It was also the doctors job to think ethically and wisely about testing an operation on a mentally retarded patient who only did the experiment to quickly become
It is possible to live without intelligence. Intelligence is important but if you don't have it, then it is fine. You can try to become intelligent by being yourself, but there is no need for getting surgery to get smarter. Charlie shouldn’t have gotten the surgery. He was living happily. He wasn't sad about anything, so he wouldn't need to go through any stress.
Charlies doctors didn’t follow the five steps to making better ethical decisions so they couldn’t make a good ethical decision. The doctors don’t follow the first step which is staying neutral and they 're just trying to get research for themselves. "The first step in making an ethical decision is to gather the facts. Try to be as neutral as possible in describing those facts, bearing in mind how inclined we all are to distorting information to
Daniels Decisions are made by people every day across the world. Some are even made by thousands of doctors across the world. Some of these decisions are considered ethical decisions. Ethical decisions are well-founded standards of right and wrong, and development and study of standards. In the book, Flowers for Algernon, Charlie Gordon-the main character-has an IQ (intelligence quotient) of 68. Since Charlie has an extremely low IQ, his one wish for him is to be smart. Charlie's doctors, Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss, have come up with a special operation that will help Charlie become smarter. But did they act ethically in a way? No. Charlie Gordon's doctors did not act ethically when they performed the surgery to make him smarter, and here's why.
Throughout our lives, we are plagued by the notion of ‘ethics’ or morals - the basis of our everyday behavior. The medical field is no exception, with doctors constantly reminded of the ethical duties they must carry out for each of their patients. An example of unethical doctors is demonstrated in Daniel Keyes’s short story, Flowers for Algernon. The story features Charlie Gordon, a man with an intellectual disability who strives to become smarter. He is a candidate for a new surgical procedure that is used to triple one’s intelligence which was directed by Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur. Although the procedure holds promise for helping a vast amount of people, Dr. Nemur and Dr. Strauss acted unethically by selecting Charlie to undergo the operation because they did not finish testing the procedure and because Charlie was unable to make a proper decision.
Charlie Gordon's doctors did act ethical when they performed the surgery to make him smarter. States in Flowers for Algernon, "A week since I dared to write again. It's slipping away like sand through my fingers. Most of the books I have are now too hard for me now. I get angry with them because I know that I read and understood them just a few weeks ago." (Keyes 82). Symbaloo research evidence, "When Charlie went to sleep, he had to sleep with music on."
All doctors sign a Hippocratic Oath when they become doctors saying they will act ethically and in the patents best interest. For example in Lasagna Louis's article that states the Hippocratic Oath, item number 9 it says " I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm." This means Charlies doctors had a obligation to keep Charlies best interests in mind, when they performed the surgery. A time in "Flowers For Algernon" when the doctors failed to keep Charlie in mind was in
Even though it was Charlies idea to do the operation it was not an ethical decision perform the experiment to enhance his intelligent by 3. the doctors knew about the all the risks of doing the experiment but still the did it any way without informing Charlie. That is the reason that the doctors ruined Charlies life. And that is the reason that Charlies doctors did not make an ethical
As a consequence, having the operation created the chance for unpredictable and unwanted outcomes. Charlie was the first human patient for the experiment. Since the doctors have never tried the operation on a human being before, the chances for making mistakes are higher. This was proven as Algernon soon experiences side effects as his intelligence regresses and he eventually passes away. Soon, Charlie also regresses back to his original intelligence state. In conclusion, having the operation created unpredictable and unwanted outcomes. I inferred that Charlie wouldn’t die like Algernon did because the last line in the book in which he asks that someone puts flowers on Algernon's grave shows that he hasn't lost 100% of his memory of what happened. The fact that he remembers Algernon and his meticulous ritual of placing flowers on his grave shows that with repetition and reminders, he does have the capacity to recall details about the time he spent with intelligence. It's there somewhere in his subconscious, just like his childhood memories were before. While Charlie maintains most of his intelligence, 16 days after Algernon bit Charlie, Algernon died. And even after 13 days realizing his intelligence is regressing, he isn't showing signs of sickness, just showing that he is absentminded. Having all these different factors influenced all these different outcomes. In
In the short story, "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes, Charlie Gordon is a 37 year-old man who has learning disabilities, with an I.Q. of 34. Charlie wants to be smarter. Charlie is tested for an operation that will increase his intelligence artificially. His doctors offer him this operation before they know how it fully affects the lab rat, Algernon, who is being watched for effects after having the same surgery. Charlie Gordon's doctors did not act ethically when they performed the surgery to make him smarter. They should have waited to see the full effects of the surgery on Algernon. They also should have identified that Charlie's I.Q. made him incapable of making a decision if the surgery was safe for him. The doctors did
Charlie Gordon was a thirty-seven year old that had an IQ of 68. He had a dream to get smart, and an operation he signed up for would help him achieve that dream. He was thrust into the operation without any knowledge of what would happen. He also was not informed of any additional information about the experiment, besides that the experiment would make him intelligent. After the experiment was completed and Charlie's intelligence reversed back to normal, Dr. Nemur and Strauss made little to no effort to make sure his personal life wasn't altered because of the experiment. Charlie Gordon's doctors did not act ethically when they performed the surgery to make him smarter.
One reason why the operation on Charlie was unethical was that he could not fully grasp the concept of the procedure. For example, in Progress Report 1, Charlie wrote that Miss Kinnian, Charlie's teacher, told him about the procedure and he jotted down, "I hope [Dr. Strauss and Dr. Nemur] use me ... I want to be smart[sic]" (Keyes 514). To receive the operation was Charlie's dream because he wanted to enhance his intelligence, however, that was all he knew about the procedure. Since Charlie had a low intelligence, he could not see the pros and cons of the surgery, only what he wanted, which was to become smart, making the operation unethical. Also, in Progress Report 3, Charlie recorded his past on how people would ask him why he wanted to become smart. "I told them becaus all my life I wantid to be smart and not dumb ... I dont care if it herts[sic]" (Keyes 515). Being born with low intelligence made Charlie yearn to get smarter. However, because getting smarter
In conclusion, Person introduces two conflicting opinions of the main message, medical ethics. However, there is a bias towards Jenna’s initial view, and the opinions of Lily and Alleys. Overall, the author uses this book as a way of showing us the ever-more relevant debate of medical ethics, but wants us to make our own decision of what view to
He was compared to a mouse, Algernon. Charlie is more important than a mouse, but the doctors did not see that in him. Once again, they were opportunists. Society would benefit from the “Charlie Gordons” being repaired. Society cared less about how the mentally impaired people felt and more about their own
The doctors took advantage of Charlie, knowing he was mentally challenged they told him they had a surgery that would make him smart. The doctors never told him of the downsides of the operation. For one the Hippocratic Oath what all doctors have to agree to say that the doctors must realize that they are treating a human being, who's life and economic standing can be affected from the treatment (Lasagna). The doctors threw that out the window and didn't care much about Charlies life, they just wanted to test the operation out on humans.
This edition consists of nine chapters divided into three parts, as well as an appendix of ten biomedical ethics cases. In Part I, chapter 1, entitled "Moral Norms," introduces the decision-making framework with attention to specifying and balancing principles and rules for moral deliberation and decision-making. Chapter 2, entitled "Moral Character," elaborates on moral virtues and ideals as an often-neglected area in biomedical ethics. In Part II, chapters 3 through 6 present the four basic groups of principles, and chapter 7, "Professional-Patient Relationships," examines the moral rules of veracity,