Ethical Theory Application Exercise

.docx

School

Arizona State University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

210

Subject

Philosophy

Date

Dec 6, 2023

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by siobhansnasby

Ethical Theory Application Exercise Siobhán Nasby HCR 210 10/23/2022 Part 1 Deontology When breaking down the word deontology, the first part “deon” comes from the Greek language and means “duty”. If you look at this breakdown literally it could be seen as that we are ethically performing our duties when utilizing this theory (Morrison et al, 2019). Theories regarding deontology are largely connected to German philosopher Immanuel Kent, who lived from 1724 to 1804. Kent believed that areas of life connected back to good will, meaning you perform an act out of duty even if it has no personal gain or benefit for you (Morrison et al, 2019). All actions can be categorized as either good or bad, with no gray area in between. Authority Based/Natural Law Authority Based theories find their basis in one’s faith or religion. Examples of this can be basing your choices on your religion such as Judaism, Catholicism, and Hinduism for example. The root of the Authority theory is that the right choice or decision is based on what the authority figure has decreed as “correct” (Morrison et al, 2019). An example of this is how the Jewish faith and the Muslim faith both do not eat pork for religious reasons. Natural Law Theory is rooted in the basis of St. Thomas Aquinas who lived from 1124 to 1274. The main idea behind Natural Law is that everything happens in relation to God’s wisdom and God’s protective care (Morrison et al, 2019). This can play a huge role for health care providers who work for hospitals under the Catholic Church for example, such as the St. Joseph Medical group. The biggest example in this setting can be one of abortion, since the Catholic church frowns on abortion they may not perform one in their hospitals. Virtue Ethics With its long history, Virtue Ethics can be traced back to the time of Plato (427 to 347 BCE) and Aristotle (384 to 322 BCE). The main purpose in Virtue Ethics is to find the correct ending or purpose for the human race and how to find that ending (Morrison et al, 2019). This ethic can be proposed as a question such as, “How should I live my life?” or “What kind of person do I want to be in this lifetime?”. Virtue Ethics can help people try to obtain their version of a “perfect” or “virtuous” life. Consequentialism/ Utilitarian Theory Consequentialism also sometimes referred to as teleology, finds its main purpose in making progress towards a goal or to finding the ending. In the health care industry consequentialism

tends to be the most often used method for decision making according to the text book. The theory uses the ideology that finding the greatest good for all or the greatest number, meaning that it aims to find what is best for the largest number of people (Morrison et al, 2019). At the end of the day the outcome is the only thing that matters. Utilitarian theory is mostly linked to British philosopher John Stuart Mill who lived from 1806 to 1873. Mill created the theory off of the basis of his mentor’s pleasure-maximizing version, his mentor being Jeremy Bentham who lived from 1748 to 1832 (Morrison et al, 2019). In this theory a person’s actions are seen as ethical when they create the greatest good or vice versa, when they avoiding create the greatest harm. Part 2 The ethical dilemma in this case study lies with Benton’s parents. They struggled with the decision to put their faith in the medical industry and instead chose to put it in their faith/religion. They believe that God will take care of their problems and pray to God for healing and guidance. Part 3 The theory that first came to mind for applying to the family was the Authority based theory. For the family this theory would help them in their ethical dilemma because the theory is based on one’s religion. A prime example of this is when Benton’s father uses his nightly prayer sessions at his bedside to affirm that God is healing him. He directly tells Benton that he believes God is testing them and that they must believe and have faith. While it is normal to have faith in God and ask for guidance, in this situation the real people that Benton’s father needs to have faith in is the healthcare professionals. They are the ones who can have the greatest effect on the situation. For the healthcare providers the theory that came to mind was Deontology. The reason for this choice is because healthcare professionals provide care because they are ethically performing their duties. Healthcare providers provide care every day to their patients for no personal gain as they have taken an oath to care for those patients regardless of the situation. This relates directly to deontology and hits home further with the belief that there is no gray area. Either it is a good or bad situation and whatever needs to be done medically has to happen. This was shown in this case by the first step being amputation, then chemotherapy, and finally comfort care. The healthcare team took it step by step and did what needed to be done regardless of Benton’s age in order to make an attempt to save his life. Part 4 The theory that was most in alignment with my own beliefs seems to be Deontology. As I have become older and experienced more things in life, I have seen that most things tend to be black and white. Life either hands you a positive situation or negative one. Not that I don’t believe in a gray area, it’s just that more often than not there is a clear right or wrong, good or bad. The theory that I find has the most difficult perspective for me to take on is the Authority based theory. In my lifetime I have found that no matter how hard you pray about a situation or try to

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help