Ethical Perspectives

1
Ethical Perspectives

• Act Centered
• Deontology- Duty
• Teleology- Consequences
• Agent Centered
• Virtue Ethics- Moral Character

2
Differences Between Act Centered and Agent
Centered Ethics

• Act centered theories focus on identifying
  procedures for determining moral obligations
• Agent centered theories focuses on long-term
  patterns of action.
• In act-centered morality the motivation to be
  moral is found either in our duties themselves,
  or in our desire to bring about good outcomes.
• The motivation in virtue theory is the virtue
  itself.
• courage, temperance, justice, prudence,
  fortitude, liberality, and truthfulness.

3
Deontology

• Kant
• 18th Century Philosopher argued that
• we owe each other particular duties.
• What is important is the motivation or intention
  for an action.
• If our motive is morally sound then our actions
  should be judged as morally sound.
• Focus on establishing primary duties of
  participants
• Motive or Intention is what is judged

4
Kantian Ethics

• A man is acting morally only when he suppresses
  feelings and inclinations and does what he is
  obliged to do, e.g. doing ones duty.
• There is a difference also between actions which
  are in accord with duty and those done from duty.
  The former are not necessarily moral but the
  latter are.
• The essence of morality is to be found in the
  motive from which the act is done (not the
  consequences).

5
The Hypothetical Imperative

• This is where the moral command is qualified
  (something is attached to the original command
  that makes it apply if certain other conditions
  exist)
• For example
• treat others with respect if you want to be
  treated with respect. These types of moral
  imperatives can be seen as providing a means to
  an end. The action is based on perceived
  consequences.

6
The Categorical Imperative

• Actions are defined without qualification such as
• treat others with respect, or always tell the
  truth.
• No consideration is given to the consequences (or
  ends) that might result from actions taken in
  accordance with these imperatives.
• These imperatives, like other persons, are ends
  in themselves.
• The Golden Rule
• Act towards others as you would want them to
  act towards you

7
Rule Deontology

• Rules are set based on explicit duties which must
  be applied in relevant circumstances.
• Examples
• Pacifism
• Non-judgementalism, or confidentiality in some
  models of counselling
• Duties might include -
• always tell the truth
• do no harm
• serve needs before wants

8
Intuitionism

• Intuitionism holds that there are several moral
  principles serving as a class or standard for
  right action.
• These principles are self evident- known to be
  right through intuition in the sense that the
  rightness or wrongness of an action is obvious to
  us (but not in the sense of intuition as a
  hunch that something may be true)

9
Some examples of self evident moral principles

• Promotiong the happiness of other people
• Refraining from harming others
• Treating others justly (i.e according to merit,
  need or as an equal)
• Telling the truth (or not telling lies)
• Keeping promises
• Promoting ones own happiness
• Maintaining and promoting one own virtues (self
  respect)

10
Act Deontology

• Duties are not defined before the act which is
  being judged
• Opposed to rules in principle because each
  situation is unique. The Context in which actions
  take place must be taken into account.
• Moral Duty Be true to yourself/Act with integrity

11
Scenario

• Michael works as a staff nurse on a specialist
  unit for people with neurological disorders.
  Elizabeth, a twenty six year old school teacher
  who has recently given birth to her first baby,
  was admitted with a history of muscle weakness
  and changes in sensation in her legs and lower
  body. Following initial investigations the
  medical team feel that the most likely diagnosis
  is multiple sclerosis.
• It is very difficult to predict how each
  patients MS will progress during the early
  stages of the disease. Some may deteriorate
  rapidly and become unable to care for themselves
  within a few years but in many cases patients
  with multiple sclerosis recover well after the
  first episode and enter a period of remission
  which may last twenty or more years.The medical
  team have a policy of not giving patients a
  diagnosis of MS during the first episode and
  prefer to wait until the patient has had a
  further episodes before they tell the patient the
  diagnosis.
• Elizabeth, who is making good progress and is
  regaining most of her physical abilities, has
  asked Michael what the results of the medical
  tests have shown.
• What duties do you think Michael might have? Who
  to? How should he act?

12
Health Ethics

• All work for health, every last bit of it, is at
  some point inspired by a human value that has
  been chosen from alternatives. This sets the
  decision over what the health service should be
  doing, what it should look like, not in an
  unassailable objective position, but firmly on
  the shoulders of those people with the power to
  change it. All health workers are included in
  this number (Seedhouse, D (1988) Ethics The
  Heart of Health Care Chichester, John Wiley p57)

13
Further Reading

• Henry, I.C and Pashley, G ( 1990) Health Ethics
  Lancaster, Quay Publishing
• Raphael, D.D (1994) Moral Philosophy (2nd
  edition) Oxford, Oxford University Press
• Seedhouse, D (1988) Ethics The Heart of Health
  Care Chichester, John Wiley