Response to a Tragic and Difficult Issue
Introduction
In view of this tragic circumstance, and the moral obligation here is an extremely difficult decision to compose. Having to rethink the entire two decades of written material incontestably was powerful and challenging. I struggle to imagine what Ms. Wolf must have been going thru, as it brings tears to my eyes. Having your father (although I never had one) relying on you for terminal decisions about his life says a lot about the closeness father and daughter experienced. This closeness makes her moral position even more difficult. Rationalism, heart ache, turmoil, empathy, and emptiness are easily apparent in that you want to do what is realistically correct for that certain situation but just what is the correct and ethical sound answer?
My response
Growing up I had no parents (a different type of tragedy) my heart goes out to the anguish that both parties endured. The consequentialism of Ms. Wolf’s decisions having empathy of her father’s experience of which the pestilence invading her father’s physical body she gives recompense in any way possible within her own beliefs and values. Deciding a loved one’s providence is not a circumstance that is easy to fathom. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy tells us…
Deontology falls within the domain of moral theories that guide and assess our choices of what we ought to do (deontic theories), in contrast to (aretaic [virtue] theories) that — fundamentally, at least — guide and assess what kind of person (in terms of character traits) we are and should be.
The deontology, of this tragedy delivers an impact carrying with it a life ...
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...andle our life situations. Yet it is life circumstances and experience of those situations that make us wise or foolish, even so we still have the freedom of choice and the God given will to make that choice, no one can take from us what is inside. God bless Susan Wolf, and her late father whose life is cherished and missed.
References
Mosser, K. (2010). A Concise Introduction to Philosophy San Diego, Bridgepoint Education,
Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Deontology Ethics Retrieved from
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/
Wolf, Susan. (2008, Sep/Oct). Confronting Physician-Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia:
My Father's Death. Hastings Center Report. 38(5), 23-26. Retrieved from EBSCO Host
Database http:// http://site.ebrary.com/lib/asford/docDetail.action?docID=
The Virtue, Utilitarianism, and Deontological concepts all have something in a common. Each one of these three concepts concentrates on an individual’s actions leading to various options, in addition to how the options affected others. The variations within each of these concepts are who engaged and was impacted by those options. The Virtue concept concentrates on an individual's character. One could stay in their lifestyle by seeking quality in everything they and others do (Boylan, 2009). The Utilitarianism concept considers that an activity, which is created to the advantage of a team, is fairly appropriate, if it delivers the biggest advantage to that team (Boylan, 2009). Utilitarianism is frequently known through the motto, “The biggest excellent for the biggest variety (Boylan, 2009).” between the three theories, Deontology is the most different. This concept moves around ones choice to control. Deontologists create options depending on understanding that something is right without concern to the higher excellent of others (Boylan, 2009).
, L. A., & , M. M. (2012, December 12). Deontology Ethics. Retrieved May 19, 2014, from Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/#WeaDeoThe
Immanuel Kant is a philosopher of the early centuries, one of his well-known works is his moral theory which can be referred to as Deontology. The moral theory arises from the principle behind Deontology which is derived from -deon which signifies rule or law and -ology which means the study of. Kant designed his moral theory to be contradictory to utilitarianism which is a moral theory that focuses on the outcomes of an action. Beside other factors the moral theory is a non-consequentialist moral theory which in basic terms means the theory follows a law based system of making judgements and disregards the consequences. Kant once said “Actions are only morally good if they are done because of a good will” however, for Kant a good will is complex
8- Alexander, Larry, Alexander,. "Deontological Ethics." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
Deontology diverges from consequentialism because deontology concentrates on the rightness or wrongness of the actions themselves instead of the consequences. There are different types of deontological theories. According to Kant, theoretical reasoning helps us discover what we should believe whereas the practical reasoning tells us what we should do. Morality falls under theoretical reasoning. In Kantian deontology, motives matter. Rather than consequences, it is the motive of an action makes that action morally right or wrong. Likewise, if an action intends to hurt someone, but eventually it benefits the other person, then it does not make that action morally right. All in all, deontology comes down to common-sense: whether it is a good action or a bad
So, knowing that deontology creates a valuable beginning for a strong moral theory, one can simply interpret the theory less strictly. Deontology can be a quite appealing theory when not taken so literally. Clearly, one has morals they consider more important than others. If the theory is adjust for this idea, the notion of moral dilemmas is eliminated and one would be allowed to lie if it saved lives. Deontology when looked at loosely is simply a moral theory that says we have morals and we need to consider them when making decisions. Therefore, one may conclude that the overall principles or deontology are correct and that this moral theory should not be dismissed.
Deontology in Immanuel Kant’s point of view is all about duty and not inclination of morality. For example, the First Proposition of Morality is an action that must be done from duty to have moral worth (298). In other words, if one were feeling generous and wanted to give money to the ones who really need it, this technically would not be moral worthy according to Kant. The reason why for this is because that person did not do it out of duty but instead out of free will. For one’s action to have moral worth, it could be an example of one going to work everyday. Everyone has their own specific job to do at work and that is their duty. All in all, Kant views that deontology must come from an action of duty in order for it to be moral worthy and it is not the consequences that determines what is right or wrong.
The deontological view would be that we should act according to a set of rules, obligations, or duties that we must fulfil, unmindful of the consequences. Kant, a popular deontological philosopher of the 19th century, wrote in his “Foundations of Metaphysics of Morals”,
Immanuel Kant has a deontological view of ethics. He writes on duty-based ethics, meaning you must act from duty to make an act a moral action. Acting simply in accordance with duty does not make an act a moral action. His sense of duty comes from the three formulas for the Categorical
Deontology is the ethical view that some actions are morally forbidden or permitted regardless of consequences. One of the most influential deontological philosophers in history is Immanuel Kant who developed the idea of the Categorical Imperative. Kant believed that the only thing of intrinsic moral worth is a good will. Kant says in his work Morality and Rationality “The good will is not good because of what it affects or accomplishes or because of it’s adequacy to achieve some proposed end; it is good only because of it’s willing, i.e., it is good of itself”. A maxim is the generalized rule that characterizes the motives for a person’s actions. For Kant, a will that is good is one that is acting by the maxim of doing the right thing because it is right thing to do. The moral worth of an action is determined by whether or not it was acted upon out of respect for the moral law, or the Categorical Imperative. Imperatives in general imply something we ought to do however there is a distinction between categorical imperatives and hypothetical imperatives. Hypothetical imperatives are obligatory so long as we desire X. If we desire X we ought to do Y. However, categorical imperatives are not subject to conditions. The Categorical Imperative is universally binding to all rational creatures because they are rational. Kant proposes three formulations the Categorical Imperative in his Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Moral, the Universal Law formulation, Humanity or End in Itself formulation, and Kingdom of Ends formulation. In this essay, the viablity of the Universal Law formulation is tested by discussing two objections to it, mainly the idea that the moral laws are too absolute and the existence of false positives and false negatives.
Normative ethics involves either a single rule or a set of principles to evaluate moral conduct. Teleology stipulates that acts are morally acceptable if they produce some desired result. Deontology on the other hand, focuses on the preservation of individual rights and on the intentions associated with a particular behavior. In summation, teleological philosophies consider the ends, or consequences, associated with an action whereas deontological philosophies consider the means (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2011). This is why teleology is commonly referred to as Consequentialism. In addition to the rule, deontology also cites individual absolute rights: freedom of conscience, freedom of consent, freedom of privacy, freedom of speech, and due process. Deontologist employ this set of freedoms because they believe certain rights should never be violated even if it is to produce a greater good (Ferre...
Deontology, on the other hand, emphasizes on the moral intuitions that guide one’s conscience for or against certain actions (Curcă, 2013). Deontologists are the opposites of utilitarians because the essential judgment of taking or not taking a course of action is observed in its strictest sense. Apart from feelings and conditions, deontologists also consider the consequences of not following religious rules and natural laws of morality to guide every course of action. Thus, deontologists value three major principles of decision-making: intrinsic morality, the duty of care, and the moral consequences of an action.
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...
This means that a person will follow his or her obligations to another individual or society because upholding one 's duty is what is considered ethically correct (1,2). For instance, a deontologist will always keep his promises to a friend and will follow the law. A person who follows this theory will produce very consistent decisions since they will be based on the individual 's set duties.” (Rainbow). Deontology works on the concept “the end does not justify the means” ("Difference Between Utilitarianism and Deontology."). I believe that I will use Deontology in many different situation throughout my life. In my personal life I may find myself in a situation where my friend asks me to pick up his son from school because my friend has another obligation to attend to. According to deontology, the morally correct option would be to pick up his son from school because I would be upholding my duty to my friend. If I did not uphold my duty to my friend by not picking up his son from school, it would be the morally wrong option according to deontology because I did not go through with my obligation. In my professional life I plan to be a pharmacist. Pharmacists have access to many different drugs. A friend could ask me to steal drugs for him. According to deontology, the morally correct option would be to tell my friend that I could not steal
Deontology is the applied human behavior based on how people should act. Immanuel Kant is a philosopher who has evaluated the acts of morality. According to article titled "Groundwork for the Metaphysic of Morals" Immanuel Kant (2005) reads, "I ought never to act in such a way that I couldn 't also will that the maxim on which I act should be a universal law” p. 11). Immanuel Kant 's quote draws applied reason for an obligation or a duty to the actions of human being 's behavior. Deontology brings clarity to one 's action in the treatment to gender equality that can reconstruct human growth and development in a social and economic structure through a simple act of