Welcome back, to the latest edition of the Ethical Schools of Thought Mini Series!

Today, we’re taking a look at Principlism. According to Principlism, to decide what’s right and wrong, we evaluate based on 3 factors:

Autonomy: Allowing people to make their own decisions and respect their choices Ask: Is the person acting of their own free will?

Beneficence: Do no harm, and act to protect the happiness of others. Ask: Will this harm anyone? How can I minimize damage?

Justice: Distribute benefits and burdens equally. Ask: Is this a fair distribution? Are people getting an equal share in the negative and the positive?

And our favorite… strengths and limitations of this theory!

Strengths	Principlism… – Allows someone to decide on their own free will, without outside influence, – This will help people to act towards benefit themselves and others (basically, higher likelihood to protect everyone’s mental/physical wellbeing) – “Benefits and burdens” are distributed equally – fairness/justice
Weaknesses	– One of the three principles must be prioritized over the others and people, depending on their values, can come to different conclusions.

So, what do you think? Would you use Principlism in your own life?