The distinctiveness of medical ethics
| Counterexamples | Duties of medical ethics | Common morality versus medical ethics |
| 1. Look after your own interests. | Act for the good of patients and society. | A moral ideal is transformed into a duty. |
| 2. Make choices your own way. | Base decisions on scientific evidence. | A moral ideal is transformed into a duty. |
| 3. Share information. | Confidentiality. | Permissible behaviour is impermissible. |
| 4. Judge the worth of others. | Non-judgmental regard. | Permissible behaviour is impermissible. |
| 5. Enjoy sexual interaction. | Non-sexual regard. | Permissible behaviour is impermissible. |
| 6. Mind your own business. | Probe (with examination, tests and questions). | Impermissible behaviour is a duty. |
| 7. Presume others have autonomy. | Assess decisional capacity. | Impermissible behaviour is a duty. |