The Ethical Theories Of Ethics

Kantian ethics is a subcategory of Deontological Ethics, which is the rightness of actions. Kantian ethics uses the concept of categorical imperative, which states that you should act in ways such that you can rationally will your acts to be a universal law. Therefore, that which is good, not that which is bad, can be universalizable. Kant believed that all people should act in a way so that you never treat another person as a means, but only as an end onto themselves. This means that if someone were to perform an act, they would do so without concern for the consequence, but rather because they believe it is in fact what they should do.

Kant would disagree with those who do the right thing for the wrong reason. We, as a society and individuals in that society, should act in ways not because it’s easy for us or more favourable, but because its right and moral.

This paper is about ethical decision making that involved a case study in a movie based on a true story. It is about a child named Lorenzo Odone, his disease, adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and how both his parents relentlessly pursued to find treatment for him. Aside from Mr. and Mrs. Odones’ decision making, the doctors and scientists involved in Lorenzo’s treatment were just as affected. These characters were faced with ethical issues that arose when deciding proper course in finding treatment for Lorenzo’s ALD. This paper will discuss the four ethical theories of decision making seen in the movie and the effects it had not only on Lorenzo but everyone that was involved.

Ethics derives from the Greek word ethos which means character. Essentially ethics is a theory of proper moral conduct. Essentially, in ethics one is trying to make a distinction between what is the case between what ought to be the case. A key player in ethics is the moral agent. A moral agent is a person that has an ability to reflect on moral issues. Moral actions conform to the law and immoral actions do not conform to the law.

The principles may include: The Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill declares that morally right decisions are those that result in ‘happiness for the greatest number. ' Kant 's Duty Defined Morality explains how acts performed out of duty have moral worth. Aristotle 's Virtue Ethics dictates that moderation is the best course. Divine Command theory holds that proper decisions follow God 's will. And lastly, Natural Law id grounded in the notion of an eternal law (in God). According to this paper, the Kant 's Duty Defined Morality is better than the other ethical theories.

Different ethical theories would view this issue in various ways. Virtue ethics believes in placing a heavy focus on moral character, while focusing less on the action itself. In this situation a virtue ethicist would evaluate if ending or continuing Samantha's treatment would impact her moral character. The beliefs of strong moral character carried by a virtue ethicist would encourage Samantha to further her parents wishes of continuing treatment. A virtue ethicist respect for human life causes them to believe that Samantha should continue treatment because of the courage and strength it shows. However some virtue ethicist might argue that because of the value for human life, Samantha should be allowed to discontinue treatment to end the immense suffering she is in. A virtue ethicist would considered all of the details of the patients suffering before making a

There are well-known philosophers that have contributed to the debate of what ethics truly is. Three of those philosophers were Kant, Mill, and Locke. They had three very distinct views of what defines ethics. Kant’s moral theory was deontology. With this belief, it is said that what is morally right is determined by the motives of the one that is committing the action. It also states that if it is someone’s duty to act in a certain way, then it is morally correct. Kant introduced the moral law called the categorical imperative. The categorical imperative is based on the idea that morals are derived from rationality of a person. According to Kant, there are three maxims universality, which states an action is considered acceptable if everyone else does it all of the time; no one should manipulate others to attain the goals of someone else, which means you should not lie; and you should act as the moral power of the universe.

A Kantian view on ethics prescribes that a person should act in such a way that if all people acted that way it would be okay. For example if you gave your promise to do something, you would always keep it because if everyone broke his or her promises it would defeat the purpose of a promise. He also believed that reason alone should be able to reveal what the ethical decision should be. Another view of Kants’, states that you should never treat people as a means to an end, but rather, as an ends in themselves. This means that we cannot use people in a manner in which we would not wish to be used.

Kants moral theory and Utilitarianism are two theories that attempt to answer the ethical nature of human beings. Kants theory focuses on the motivation of actions, has clear and distinct set of universal rules, and is morally logical. Kant’s central focus is on motives, fairness, and the basic idea of treating persons as autonomous and morally equal beings. Utilitarianism is based on the concept that we ought to do whatever produces the greatest overall utility and this would be considered morally right action. Utilitarianism relies on the consequences of an action, has no set universal laws as each action is assessed on an individual basis, and morality is based on the results of the assessment.

Is it right for our society to be held for immoral behavior when it is already being displayed in our society and within the cultural areas in our lives? Right or wrong ways are always among our society, and when we are dealing with an ethical theory deontology system seems more established. This ethics theory, conducts a matter of right and wrong. This indicates our behavior, whether it is morally or immoral and which deals with human relationships to see how we comprehend towards others and how they comprehend toward us. Human activities normally depict one’s ethical nature, adhering to the moral values of the deontology theory. John Stuart Mill, states “that each individual got benefit only from the nobleness of others, with his own nobleness serving to reduce his own happiness.”(Mill, J. S. 2008) We have happiness and unhappiness that are developed as a consequence of an action; normally people judge their actions solely whether if it is considered right or wrong by virtue of their consequences and what matters in life. With this I do agree that people should be liable for their immoral act. In this essay I will explain the core principle of deontology theory, and the principle that supports the question that were purposed and express an objective on the basis of that argument.

What is the aim of moral (ethical) theory that you learned from the reading? Elaborate on this by explaining how you think that having a clearer understanding of ethics can affect your life.

Utilitarianism is one of the general moral theories of normative ethics, which is made up of two principles: utility and equality. Utility is to maximize things like happiness, pleasure, and desire-satisfaction. Equality is the principle that the interests of all members of the moral community who are involved are completely equal. The utilitarian theory, therefore, tries to create the most amount of well being and the least amount of displeasure or suffering. To apply the utilitarian view to whether it is possible to be an ethical carnivore, consideration of all the interest of all those involved is essential, which would include humans and non-human animals. Farmers, meat eaters, animals, activists are all affected by ethical and unethical choices made by carnivores. One way to be an ethical carnivore, according to the utilitarian view, would be to consume happy meat, which is meat that is raised, treated and killed humanely, minimizing suffering to animals. According to philosopher Peter Singer, animals have the ability to feel pain and so have an interest in avoiding pain; this makes animals part of the moral community says Singer .In a utilitarian based world, if all meat eaters would only purchase happy meat, it would substantially reduce the pain and suffering of the non human members of the moral community and thus maximizing the good for the most number of beings thus supporting that there can be such a thing as an ethical carnivore.

Moral and Ethical theories often conflict with one another. It is hardly ever true that both theories agree with one another. Same is the case for Jean and Pierre. Following the four basic principles of Act Utilitarianism, Rule Utilitarianism, Social Contract Theory, and Kantianism his actions will be discussed in the following paper. Examining his actions, he was in favor of following the moral instinct of Utilitarianism more than any other theory.

Kant’s theory is not without serious flaws either. For instance, ignoring the consequences of one’s actions may result in breaking one universal law as a result of following another. In

Kantian ethics emphasizes on two conditions for an action to be morally good. The first, that an action only has moral worth if it is done for the sake of duty. The second is that an action is considered right if its maxim can be willed as a universal law. Kantian ethics then is working on the basis of duty and universality. In failing to recognize the multiple aspects of morality, Kantian ethics shows inadequacy as a moral theory. (Hinman, 2008)