Fairbairn's T4 Program In Germany: An Analysis

Deontological theory was founded by a German name Immanuel Kant in the 18 century. He was a modern philosopher who emphasizes on duties, that one’s action should be motivated by their responsibilities and sense of duty to morality. Kant theory focuses on a set of fundamental moral duties and respect for the moral law. Kant believes that it is our responsibility to speak the truth, keep promises and pay back debts because it is a moral duty and if you violate such duties you are committing a morally wrong act. He also believes in reparation that one should try to undo or repair any damage that one may have cause. He focuses on gratitude, that one should always show appreciation to others for their kindness, justice to be fair,

Furthermore, euthanasia is a disgrace to humanity. An individual person or group shouldn’t decide how, when, and if another person should die. The act of ending someone’s life just because another decided that the individual’s life gives no worth to the person or to society is unjust. That is simply the person’s opinion, and their opinion shouldn’t end a precious human life. Usually, people with disabilities who request euthanasia, do so because of how others treat them, not because of their actual disability. If we were to respect those with disabilities, that would remove hardships, not death. Another reason why euthanasia is wrong is that a person who can’t think straight or is a human vegetable, a person who does not have mental or physical abilities (O’Steen). She/he can be killed by a guardian’s request according to law, even if the patient never showed a desire to die. The Declaration of Independence states our rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” and euthanasia goes against that. If the right to live is reduced, all over rights are worthless (“Euthanasia Statement”).

Deontology is an ethical theory concerned with duties and rights. The founder of deontological ethics was a German philosopher named Immanuel Kant. Kant’s deontological perspective implies people are sensitive to moral duties that require or prohibit certain behaviors, irrespective of the consequences (Tanner, Medin, & Iliev, 2008). The main focus of deontology is duty: deontology is derived from the Greek word deon, meaning duty. A duty is morally mandated action, for instance, the duty never to lie and always to keep your word. Based on Kant, even when individuals do not want to act on duty they are ethically obligated to do so (Rich, 2008).

Deontology is an ethical position that examines the morality of an action based on the action’s adherence to rule or rules. Many times is described as obligation or rule based ethics (Alexander). Therefore, the only actions that are considered moral are those that are performed solely for one’s duty to the moral law rather than one’s desire. Deontology is the school of thought that Kant comes from. Immanuel Kant was a critical figure in philosophy in the modern age. His work was the foundation of the most famous form of Deontology.

To begin, I would like to take a utilitarian approach to the subject of euthanasia. Utilitarians believe that an action should cause the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. As a terminally ill person continues to render further implications of their disease, more and more pain will bestow upon them. They may become bed ridden and unable to enjoy the activities and pleasures that made their life intrinsically good. As time

Laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are in place to prevent abuse and to protect people from unscrupulous doctors and others. They are not, and never have been, intended to make anyone suffer. Activists often claim that laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are government mandated suffering. This claim would be similar to saying that laws against selling contaminated food are government mandated starvation. In a society as obsessed with the costs of health care and the principle of utility, the dangers of the slippery slope are far from fantasy.

This ethical theory is mostly associated with its progenitor, Immanuel Kant, although other forms of deontology exist such as moral absolutism, divine command theory and contemporary

Butts and Butts (2015, p 188) continue that Kantian deontology suggests that each rational being is ethically bound to act with a sense of duty for which the consequences are irrelevant, whereby a provider may consider that certain actions would ultimately save their patient's life and better serve their health, which is the general aim of health care services. Ethics is an active process distinguishing matters of right and wrong and how these matters relate to the well-being or and relationship amongst persons.

Kantian deontology is a form of duty-based ethics. This is in contrast to utilitarianism, which focuses on consequences (Kay 4). Kant rejected utilitarianism, because it focused on the results of the action rather than its nature. Since no one can know the result of an action with certainty, no one should be praised or blamed for the result of that action, according to Kant (Kay 4). In other words, moral evaluation should occur in the willing rather than in the achieving. Kant wants to spread the notion that actions should be morally evaluated based on what humans can control (Kay 4). And Kant believes that what humans can control is their will.

From an ethical framework stand point, utilitarian’s would argue for non-voluntary euthanasia. The Utilitarian ultimately rates whether an action is good or bad based on the outcome. Thus, the end outcome might justify the means for doing an action (Burkhardt & Nathaniel, 2008). For example, as discussed previously above, the cost of end of life treatment is often times extremely expensive, not only for the family but also for the economy. Still, when focusing on not only dollar amounts, but also totaling the numbers in the population afflicted with dementia, “around 1% of the population receives support for dementia” (Sharp, 2012), so therefore the number of loved ones affected would be much higher, leading a utilitarian to choose death of the cognitively impaired individual rather than becoming such a burden. By sacrificing one cognitively impaired individual, there will result in greater overall good in the rest of the population in terms of financial and resources.

Duty-based ethics are based on duty or obligation. Kant argues that there are higher principles that are good in no matter the time, situation, or culture. Therefore, when faced with

"A Short Overview of Kantian/Deontological Ethical Theory." Sarvodaya. N.p., 03 Dec. 2012. Web. 10 Mar. 2015.

First of all, it is inevitable that the argument “euthanasia being morally permissible” is relevant to the philosophical theory “Utilitarianism” which generally fixates on increasing happiness and decreasing misery to an

Deontology as promoted by Kant on the other hand denies that the right action is the one that produces the best consequences. It is based on a set of moral rules, and the right action is supposed to be the one that conforms with these rules, whereas certain other types of action are morally forbidden. Deontology seems to appeal to common sense as duties include special obligations to family and

Duty ethics is also known as Deontology, a word that comes from the Greek word “deon”, which translates to 'duty '. Duty ethics is a moral theory that focuses on people’s actions, regardless of their consequences. This moral theory teaches that individuals should do the right thing, simply because it is the right thing to do. The same applies to the contrary: do not do wrong things, all wrong things should be avoided because of their nature of being wrong. According to this moral theory, no action should be justified solely by demonstrating that it produced good outcomes (Duty-based ethics, 2014).