Deontology and Utilitarianism: Ethical Theories for Nurses

Deontology and Utilitarianism: Ethical Theories for Nurses

Ethics is not a concept that is thought about often, but it is practiced on a daily basis. Even while unconscious of the fact, people consider ethics while making every choice in life. There are many theories to which people allude, but two radically different theories that are sometimes practiced are deontology and utilitarianism. Deontology deals with actions in a situation while utilitarianism examines the consequences of those actions. While polar opposites on the broad spectrum of ethics, deontology and utilitarianism are bioethical theories that can be applied to nursing practice and personal life situations.

Kant’s Deontology

German philosopher Immanuel Kant popularized the philosophy of deontology, which is described as actions that are based on obligation rather than personal gain or happiness (Rich & Butts, 2014). While developing his theory, Kant deemed two qualities that are essential for an action to be deemed an ethical. First, he believed it was never acceptable to sacrifice freedom of others to achieve a desired goal. In other words, he believed in equal respect for all humans. Each human has a right for freedom and justice, and if an action takes away the freedom of another, it is no longer ethical or morally correct. Secondly, he held that good will is most important, and that what is good is not determined by the outcome of the situation but by the action made (Johnson, 2008). In short, he simply meant that the consequences of a situation do not matter, only the intention of an action. Kant also declared that for an act to be considered morally correct, the act must be driven by duty alone. By extension, there could be no other motivation such as lo...

... middle of paper ...

...heir own. Immanuel Kant, Jeremy Bentham, and John Stewart Mill may not have founded these theories, but they dedicated themselves to pursuing the dream of furthering and publishing their beliefs to the world. Today, the world now has access to these philosophies and theories which to learn and grow from.

Works Cited

Rich, K. & Butts, J. B. (2014). Foundations of ethical nursing practice (Chapter 4, 3rd ed.). In K. Masters (Ed.). Role development in professional nursing practice. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Levack, W. M. (2009). Ethics in goal planning for rehabilitation: a utilitarian perspective. Clinical Rehabilitation, 23(4), 345-351.

Johnson, R. (2013). Kant’s moral philosophy. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2013 Edition). Zalta, E. (Ed.). Retrieved online from http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2013/entries/kant-moral/