This is a reblog of my post “Absorbing Influences,” which was the title of an entry of John Heim (aka Big Mo from the former Big Mo Pod Show). It was a regular review of Big Mo’s Friday blues music show (see link below in the original post). In my blog, I noted that I didn’t really understand Catfish Keith’s song, “Don’t Know Right from Wrong.” Looking back, I was probably just overthinking it.
When I reread it, it made me think of ethics, or the part of philosophy involving, among other things, deciding how to tell right from wrong. It reminded me of my days as a consultation-liaison psychiatrist in a general hospital. Sometimes, I was called to assess what was called “dispositional capacity.” In other words, was the patient able to manage living by himself despite obvious impairments in his ability to make sensible decisions well enough to live safely at home. Those were tough assessments and I found that consultation with the hospital ethics team very helpful.
I also remember an article by Dr. Ronald Pies published in the January 6, 2011 issue of Psychiatric Times, “The Eight-Fold Path of Internet Ethics: A Primer for Health Care Professionals.”
Every time I look at the news on the web, I see what I suspect are flagrant violations of Dr. Pies’ recommendations. As he said, it’s truly a “wild west” out there. It’s important to pay attention to what we’re saying to each other. I’m trying to absorb the influence of Dr. Ron Pies. And all this means being able to tell right from wrong.
Go Retire Psychiatrist 
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