Describe the moral theories of Aristotle, Kant and Mill and how they relate to healthcare.
Every time an individual carries out an act there is a deeply embedded instinct to question whether the action is right or wrong this is influenced by the concept of morality, which is essential in society. This essay will discuss the theories of morality from the perspectives of Aristotle Kant and Mills.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a thinker and intellectual his position on morality and moral theory is defined by his view Deontological ethics and the Categorical Imperative. For Kant, deciding what is moral or immoral is based on how the individual acts regarding the Categorical Imperative. Being consistent with what the Categorical Imperative …show more content…
There are four main fundamental principles. Autonomy in medical care is the right of competent adults to make informed decisions about their care. The principle requires staff to seek the consent and agreement of the person before any treatment takes place. Beneficent is an action that will benefit a person these, actions can help prevent or remove harm or improve a patient’s situation. Healthcare professionals are required to avoid causing harm but are also obliged to help their patients. For example, would it benefit an elderly patient with several deliberating diseases to undergo surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and then receive chemotherapy with no guarantee of positive results. This principle can be linked with Non-Maleficence which means to avoid causing unnecessary harm but many treatments do carry the risk of some harm or side effects. That the benefit of the treatment should be greater than the harm inflicted. Sometimes by adhering to these principles medical professionals fail to respect a person’s autonomy. Distinctive justice is concerned with equality and entitlement the right to be treated with fairness and equally with regards to accessing treatments and health resources. This is not always the case in practice other factors including cultural, environmental, social status and disability can impact on equal access as do financial costs and hospital budgets. The Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences recently reported that doctors and other medical staff are increasingly refusing to administer potentially useful treatment for economic reasons (SAMS, 2008). Two more principles that relate to justice are Naturel justice which is a person’s human rights, healthcare is stated as a right within the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” and by the World Health Organization's” Declaration on the Rights of
Every time an individual carries out an act there is a deeply embedded instinct to question whether the action is right or wrong this is influenced by the concept of morality, which is essential in society. This essay will discuss the theories of morality from the perspectives of Aristotle Kant and Mills.
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a thinker and intellectual his position on morality and moral theory is defined by his view Deontological ethics and the Categorical Imperative. For Kant, deciding what is moral or immoral is based on how the individual acts regarding the Categorical Imperative. Being consistent with what the Categorical Imperative …show more content…
There are four main fundamental principles. Autonomy in medical care is the right of competent adults to make informed decisions about their care. The principle requires staff to seek the consent and agreement of the person before any treatment takes place. Beneficent is an action that will benefit a person these, actions can help prevent or remove harm or improve a patient’s situation. Healthcare professionals are required to avoid causing harm but are also obliged to help their patients. For example, would it benefit an elderly patient with several deliberating diseases to undergo surgery to remove a cancerous tumor and then receive chemotherapy with no guarantee of positive results. This principle can be linked with Non-Maleficence which means to avoid causing unnecessary harm but many treatments do carry the risk of some harm or side effects. That the benefit of the treatment should be greater than the harm inflicted. Sometimes by adhering to these principles medical professionals fail to respect a person’s autonomy. Distinctive justice is concerned with equality and entitlement the right to be treated with fairness and equally with regards to accessing treatments and health resources. This is not always the case in practice other factors including cultural, environmental, social status and disability can impact on equal access as do financial costs and hospital budgets. The Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences recently reported that doctors and other medical staff are increasingly refusing to administer potentially useful treatment for economic reasons (SAMS, 2008). Two more principles that relate to justice are Naturel justice which is a person’s human rights, healthcare is stated as a right within the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” and by the World Health Organization's” Declaration on the Rights of