A step towards medical ethics modeling

Abstract

Modeling of ethical reasoning has been a matter of discussion and research among distinct scientific fields, however no definite model has demonstrated undeniable global superiority over the others. However, the context of application of moral reasoning can require one methodology over the other. In areas such as medicine where quality of life and the life itself of a patient may be at stake, the ability to make the reasoning process understandable to staff and to change is of a paramount importance. In this paper we present some of the modeling lines of ethical reasoning applied to medicine, and defend that continuous logic programming presents potential for the development of trustworthy morally aware decision support systems. It is also presented a model of moral decision in two situations that emerge recurrently at the Intensive Care Units, a service where the moral complexity of regular decisions is a motivation for the analyze and development of moral decision support methodologies.