I’m taking a course on Bioethics at Oxford University and I would like to share with you the starting point before discussing what is ethically correct or wrong.
Ethical Theories
For centuries, philosophers have analyzed theoretically the way we live and act in an ethical way. Here is a brief description of the 3 main ethical theories. We will see that each theory emphasizes and prioritizes different points.
Katianism is based on reason; it was developed during the Enlightenment period by Kant. According to this theory, the rightness or wrongness does not depend on the consequences of the action itself but on whether it fulfills our duty or not. People have the duty to act accordingly, regardless of the consequences that may be produced. In this theory, according to Kant there is a fundamental principle of morality and it is referred to as the Categorical Imperative. Therefore, morality must be based on these categorical imperatives. The main criticism against this theory is that the categorical imperatives are difficult to determine and that this theory does not analyze the cases where duties are in conflict.
Utilitarianism is the theory that proposes that acting rightly involves maximizing the amount of happiness and minimizing the amount of suffering for the greatest number. This ethical framework focuses on the consequences of one’s actions. Therefore, the amount of happiness and suffering caused by people’s actions is what really matters. Sometimes we may need to break some of the traditional moral rules to achieve this. Impartiality and agent-neutrality are characteristics of this theory, which means that everyone’s happiness is the same. The main criticism is that this position lacks consistency and it is a very difficult to apply to real life moral decisions as sometimes we cannot know which the long-term or short-term consequences are.
Finally, virtue ethics is a character-based theoretical framework but within a community. It’s emphasis is on virtues, which means that living an ethical life or acting rightly requires developing virtues such as compassion and wisdom, among others. It also requires avoiding vices such as selfishness. It is important to mention that this moral character is developed over a long period of time, throughout life. These virtues are determined by common sense that we can observe and judge in other people. Virtue ethics theory is based on Aristotle’s ethics who declared that a virtuous person is someone with ideal character traits. This theory does not aim to identify universal principles that can be applied in moral situations. Therefore, it does not provide guidance on how we should act and behave, the only parameter is acting as a virtuous person in a given the situation. The main objection to this theory is that it is very difficult to follow without universal rules or principles. It is very flexible and relative as there are not clear definitions of what a virtuous person is.
In conclusion, these ethical frameworks and principles can help significantly in our decision-making process. With this background and understanding each theory including its strengths and weaknesses, we can find ways to analyze a particular situation and reach the most ethically correct decision possible when we are facing a dilemma.
Alejandra Villanueva
English<>Spanish translator
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