Ethical Theories

THEORIES OF
HEALTH ETHICS
Ethical Theories 1. Deontology - is an ethical theory
that says actions are good or bad according to a
clear set of rules.
Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to

distinguish right from wrong. Deontology is often
associated with philosopher Immanuel Kant.
Kant believed that ethical actions follow universal

moral laws, such as “Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t
cheat.”
Its name comes from the Greek word DEON, meaning DUTY AND
LOGOS- SCIENCE
ethical theories that place special emphasis on the relationship
between duty and the morality of human actions
Deontological (duty-based) ethics are concerned with what people
do, not with the consequences of their actions.
Do the right thing. Do it because it's the right thing to do.
• Unlike consequentialism, which judges
actions by their results, deontology doesn’t
require weighing the costs and benefits of a
situation. This avoids subjectivity and
uncertainty because you only have to follow
set rules.
• Unlike consequentialism, which judges
actions by their results, deontology doesn’t
require weighing the costs and benefits of a
situation. This avoids subjectivity and
uncertainty because you only have to follow
set rules.
•
So, following the rules
makes deontology easy
to apply. But it also
means disregarding the
possible consequences
of our actions when
determining what is
right and what is wrong
Strengths
Justifies obligations irrespective of

consequences
It account for role of motive

In contrast to the deontological approach,
2. TELEOLOGY- the teleology ethical orientation emphasizes
(teleological outcomes over the process.
from It is a results-oriented approach that defines

Greek telos, ethical behavior by good or bad
consequences. Ethical decisions are those
“end”; logos, that create the greatest good.
“science”),
Explains phenomena by referring to purpose,
ends, aims…
• Teleology is the philosophic ends, of
purposes, of potential and action as
related to goals. study of Through this
philosophic lens, one considers the
relationship between long-term goals and
the actions required to create those long-
term goals: In Teleology, considers
whether the end result of actions makes
certain means necessary .
• To put it simply
• Teleology asks two very important
questions:
• 1. Does the end justify the means?
• 2. What are the means that justify what
end?
TELEOLOGY THEORY
01 02 03
a teleologist would attempt It depends on what is Depends on person’s own
to comprehend the purpose considered as “good” or “evil” conception
of something by examining its or “pleasure” or “pain”
results. He will deem an act
good if it produces good
results and another action
bad if it produces bad results.
An oversimplification to illustrate means and ends:
I am hungry.
I buy a sandwich to satisfy my hunger.
I eat it; therefore, I am satisfied.
The purpose, the means, of buying the sandwich is to achieve the ends of
not being hungry anymore.
TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS
TELEOLOGICAL THEORIES FOCUS ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF

ACTIONS; IN OTHER WORDS, THIS THEORIZES THAT OUR
TELEOLOGICAL ETHICS IS A THEORY
ACTIONS BEING MORALLY RIGHT OR WRONG DEPENDS ON THE
ACCORDING TO WHICH THE
RIGHTNESS OF AN ACT IS GOOD OR EVIL GENERATED
DETERMINED BY ITS OUTCOME
Strength
• Agree too much of our moral
reasoning
• Teleological theories provide
relatively precise and objective
method for moral decision
making.
E.G
Goodness of consequences can be
measured and compared.
Activity:
• What then are the ends for a student?
• to earn a good grade(s)
• to move onto the next grade/graduate
• to get into a good college
• to get a valuable degree
• to secure a job that provides significant/ meaningful employment and pays well
to believe that these things are all inherently related to producing a happy
you/good life
3. UTILITARIANISM
• As a form of consequentialism, evaluates actions in terms of their

consequences.
• The classical formulation of Utilitarianism can be found in the writing
of Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill ( 1806-1873)
• For Bentham and his followers, Morality is concerned with
maximizing happiness or utility
• As a social reformer, Bentham believed that morality, as well as law
and social policy, should all have the same goal: to serve for the
good of all persons.
UTILITARIANISM
• The greatest happiness principle
• Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness
• Wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness …Or
• Always do whatever will produce the greatest happiness for the
greatest number.
The Principle of Utility
• The purpose of morality, as he saw it, was to make the world a better
place for everyone.
• Bentham and his followers saw their ethical theory as providing the basis
for legal and social reforms
• They wanted to reduce sufferings and promote happiness. They wanted
to make law serve human needs and interest. They wanted social policy to
work for the good of all persons.
• For Bentham happiness is the ONLY thing that has intrinsic value.
• Other things such as money or freedom may be good too, but only to the
extent that they produce happiness, what they have is instrumental value,
not intrinsic value.
• Money for example, is just a means to an end. It has no intrinsic
value, it is not good or valuable in itself . Its value is instrumental.
Sometimes you can use money to buy happiness, sometimes you
cannot.
• Money has value only when you can use it to buy happiness.
• From a Utilitarian point of view, actions are not right or wrong in
themselves.
• An action is right if it brings more happiness (pleasure) that
unhappiness (pain or suffering), and wrong it causes more
unhappiness than happiness.
• The 3 main propositions of classical utilitarianism.
• 1. First , actions are to be judged right or wrong solely in virtue of their
consequences. Nothing else matters. Right actions are simply, those that
have the best consequences.
• 2. Second, in assessing consequences, the only thing that matters is the
amount of happiness or unhappiness that is caused. Everything else is
relevant. Thus, right actions are those that produce the greatest balance
of happiness over unhappiness.
• 3. Third , in calculating the happiness or unhappiness is to be counted as
more important that anyone else’s. each person’s welfare or well-being is
equally important. In short, everyone counts and everyone counts equally.
• To put all together, the most fundamental principle of UTILITARIANISM is
“the principle of Utility” (also known as the greatest happiness principle):
We ought to perform the action that produces the greatest amount of
happiness for the greatest number of people.
• The “UTILITY” of an action is the next amount of pleasure ( over
pain) that is causes when everyone affected by it is taken into
consideration.
• The best action, in other words, is the one that maximizes utility.
• When we evaluate actions, there is no need to consider the motives
or intentions for which people do what they do: it is the result or
consequence of ones action that matters morally.
• What we need to do is to measure, calculate and compare the
consequences produced by various alternative actions.
• The moral right or best action is the one that produces the greatest
overall positive consequences for everyone affected by the action.
STRENGTHS
• An attractive feature of utilitarianism is that it has given morality a
clear purpose: to promote general well -being or maximize overall
happiness
• The right action is the one that brings the greatest amount of
happiness to the greatest number of people.
• In addition, Utilitarianism offers a logical and reasonable solution to
moral decision making.
• In our daily lives we use Utilitarianism all the times: We give money
to charity when seiing that it would do more good for needy people
than it would for ourselves
STRENGTHS
• Utilitarianism provides a universal standard of morality according to
which everyone’s interest and well-being must be taken into
consideration and given equal weight.
• As such, Utilitarianism embodies the ideal of equal concern for all
persons.
• For example, from a utilitarian point of view, policymakers are
expected to make decisions based on calculation of the effects of
policies on society as a whole. They should not choose policies that
favor themselves or their families and friends.
STRENGTHS
• Utilitarianism also encourages us to show more concern for animals.
• Because animals, like humans, can experience pleasure and pain,
Utilitarian reasoning requires that we take animal welfare into
consideration when we decide what is the right thing to do.
ACT OF UTILITARIANISM
• 1. RULE UTILITARIANISM – Applies the principle of utility to moral
rules.
• The best way to promote general welfare, according to rule
utilitarianism, is to adhere to those rules that are chosen to maximize
utility.
• As a general rule, punishing innocent people produces more
unhappiness than happiness
• Thus in the previous example, we should adopt the rule never punish
the innocent because the adoption of this rule is likely to produce the
best consequence for society as a whole.
• Actions that violate the rule can never be morally justified, although
there might be particular instances in which punishing an innocent
person would produce more happiness that unhappiness.
• 2. ACT UTILITARIANISM – argues that we should consider the

expected consequences of various actions and choose the one that
maximizes utility.
• An act is right insofar as it maximizes happiness in a particular
situation
SCENARIO
• A doctor has five (5) patients under his care
• One of the patient needs to have a heart transplant, one needs two lungs, one
needs a liver, and the last two need kidneys.
• Now into his office comes a young healthy man who just wants to have a flu
shot.
• Doing a utility calculus, there is no doubt in the doctors mind that he could do
more good by injecting drug and using his organs to save the patients. Is there
anything wrong with this line of thinking.
Presented by:
MILLICENT C. PASCUA
RN, MSN

Ethical Theories

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THEORIES OF

Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to

Kant believed that ethical actions follow universal

Justifies obligations irrespective of

It account for role of motive

from It is a results-oriented approach that defines

I buy a sandwich to satisfy my hunger.

I eat it; therefore, I am satisfied.

TELEOLOGICAL THEORIES FOCUS ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF

• As a form of consequentialism, evaluates actions in terms of their

• 2. ACT UTILITARIANISM – argues that we should consider the

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