Evaluate the Society of Homeopaths Code of Ethics and Practice and Essay

Evaluate the Society of Homeopaths Code of Ethics and Practice and discuss its value within the profession - Essay Example urn in order to treat patients they employ the use of five different models with the homeopath discerning which model will bring the most benefit to the patient (Owen 2007 p.1-12). In order to morally appraise the employment of such alternative techniques, questions both scientific and philosophical are raised. It is only through such discussion and debate that we come to a set of moral rules and guidelines which can define when and how the practice of homeopathy can be pursued. They not only preserve the reputation, dignity and integrity of the practice but also allow the practitioners to take responsibility for their actions. These are the Society of Homeopaths Code of Ethics and Practice and this paper will provide an assessment of its value within the profession (Owen 2007 p.1-12). As mentioned before these guidelines are of course based upon philosophical principles. It is through these principles that these procedures are decided and debated upon. Two of the parameters which have been used to decide whether or not the guidelines are ethical or unethical are the principles of moral relativism and utilitarianism. Moral relativism works on the principle that in a society most of its members consider certain actions to be either morally conscionable or unconscionable. Given that each society holds a different moral value for each action it stands to reason that each member of the society will have a different moral standard for each action. This brings us to the second philosophical tenant known as utilitarianism. According to this principle the result of taking an action defines its morality. Thus in this principles value is given to the consequences of the action taken rather than individual opinion of the action taken. Thus the true purpose of this principle is to maximize the advantage of the action taken (Driver 2006 p.11-21 & p.40-60). The reason why these parameters are mentioned above is because the ethical guidelines rather than being rigid and