Utilitarianism In Nursing Ethics

Ethical dilemmas, also known as a moral dilemma, is a situation in which there is a choice between two options, neither of which resolves the situation completely. In other words, both options will result in negative results based on society and/or personal guidelines. Labor and delivery nurses are often confronted with ethical dilemmas in practice. To help student nurses prepare for this eventuality, nursing programs do their best to incorporate education about ethics and professionalism into courses. This introduction to ethics in nursing school also assists future nurses to begin recognizing and managing their own personal values in a way that can help guide them in resolving ethical conflicts they will encounter throughout their professional careers.

Decisions about right and wrong fill each and every day. Turmoil exists due to deciding if Deontology, where one acts based on the right motives, or if Utilitarianism, where one should act in a way that would produce the best results and consequences, should govern decisions and their morality. However, I believe Deontology, which is reason and duty based, serves as the superior way to dictate morality. In this paper, I will explain both the principles of Deontology and Utilitarianism, discuss the superior aspects of Deontology as compared to Utilitarianism, as well as grapple with objections to Deontology. While both ethical frameworks contain parts of ideologies that could be seen as valid, Kant’s theory on Deontology holistically remains

As it has been shown, the utilitarian view has its strengths and is certainly logical in some cases, however, Kantian ethics offer a more stable set of moral

As we know consequentialism is the focus of an action that does more intrinsically good than bad, one kind of consequentialist theory is utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is an action that produces consequences that are more good over bad for everyone involved. In order to produce an action that is the best one a utilitarianist would consider both long and short term effects. Two sub categories of utilitarianism include act utilitarianism and rule utilitarianism. act utilitarianism bases an action on the overall well being produced by an individual.

The American Nurses Association believes that respect for the inherent dignity, worth, unique attributes, and human rights of all individuals are a fundamental principle (ANA 2015). ANA establish nursing philosophy that guides our practice and set standards that nurse can follow and integrate into their practice. I believe nursing is a caring profession and the nurse plays a substantial role in providing quality care that empowers the patient to meet their goals, educate the patient about their disease, and support patient decision of expressing their autonomy. I will be discussion my nursing philosophy, which I fee is the core characters of being a nurse. The following are my personal nursing beliefs/values: compassionate/caring, fairness and honesty, advocacy, autonomy, knowledge.

Deontology which is derived from the Greek words Deon (meaning obligation/duty) and logia (science/study) combined to be also known as duty or rule-based ethics or the study of duties or obligations. It is a branch of ethical theories that deals with ethics of conduct, which theories are based on the sort of actions people must perform. It is based on non-consequentialism where the ends do not justify the means and thus deontology is an approach to ethics in which a sense of duty or principle prescribes the ethical decision (Preston, 2007). Deontology affirms duties must be obeyed regardless of the consequences. The theory of Deontology has its flaws as well and this essay will present three criticisms of deontology namely that deontology relies on moral absolutes, allows acts that make the world a worse place, two permissible duties that are right can conflict with each other and will demonstrate these flaws with relevant case studies and dilemmas.

In this essay, I compared Utilitarianism and Deontology, and argued that Deontology is a better ethics system than Utilitarianism because, while Utilitarianism focuses solely on results, Deontology considers humans as more than just a means to an end and provides for a system of generally accepted

Just to refresh, deontological approach focuses upon adherence to self-moral rules or duties, and in order to make such decisions we have to understand what our moral duties are. Teleological focuses on the consequences an action might have. Then there is utilitarian approach in which it views the moral worth of a deed in terms of its consequences. Utilitarianism claims that its actions maximizes pleasure and minimizes negative experiences. (Notes)

As per the reading suggested by the instructor about the philosophical idea of Consequentialism (Utilitarianism) given by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill and the other concept which is given by Immanuel Kant in the critics of Utilitarianism theory which is called Deontological Ethics. The reading given made understand about all these two concept and their possible application in the policy or law making like the universal law. Utilitarianism:- this is the concept used by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and the John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). The core idea of this theory is the results comes from the action taken by the group of people or the individual. According to theory the outcomes will be judged weather the action was morally right or wrong.

The theory of deontology states we are morally obligated to act in accordance with obvious set of principles and rules regardless of results. Deontological ethics focuses on duties, and rights. The term deontological was coined by the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham, who described it as “knowledge of what is right or proper” Bentham thought that deontology points in the direction of principle of utility. But contemporary philosophers use the term deontological to indicate a contrast with the utilitarian focus on the consequences of action. Instead of focusing on consequences, deontological ethics focus on duties and obligation: things we ought to do regardless of the consequences.

Commonly, ethical systems are categorized into two major systems. The deontological approaches or normative ethical position which judges an action based on the adherence of the action to certain rules and the teleological approaches which judges primarily based on the consequences of an action (Hare, 1964). The Utilitarianism is assigned to the teleological approaches, as it does not evaluate an action by itself but by it’s

Utilitarianism is a teleological ethical theory based on the idea that an action is moral if it causes the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people. The theory is concerned with predicted consequences or outcomes of a situation rather than focusing on what is done to get to the outcome. There are many forms of utilitarianism, having been introduced by Jeremy Bentham (act utilitarianism), and later being updated by scholars such as J.S. Mill (rule utilitarianism) and Peter Singer (preference utilitarianism). When referring to issues of business ethics, utilitarianism can allow companies to decide what to do in a given situation based on a simple calculation. Many people would agree that this idea of promoting goodness

Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory because it maintains that morally right actions, the actions we are obligated to do, are selected by considering the consequences that those actions tend to produce. In short, utilitarianism requires that we look to nonmoral consequences of actions as the only proper way to make moral decisions. A utilitarian approach would make the decision based on what would bring the greatest overall good, considering everyone involved. In this scenario, act-utilitarianism is more fitting on the fact that the individuals must choose whether or not to act in the absence of a generally accepted rule for this type of situation. “Act-utilitarianism says that right actions are those that directly produce the overall

Utilitarianism is an ethical theory whose principal architects were Jeremy Bentham(1748-1832) and John Stuart Mill (1806-1873). It derives it 's name from utility, which means usefulness. The utilitarian says that an act is right (moral) if it is useful in “bringing about a desirable or good end. " It has been more characteristically stated, however, as "Everyone should perform that act or follow that moral rule that will bring about the greatest good (or happiness) for everyone concerned. (Thiroux & Krasemann, 2009)The reason for mentioning both acting and following rules is that utilitarianism generally is found in two main forms: Act Utilitarian and Rule utilitarian.

However, even though these are two opposing philosophies, with very different ideas governing their conclusions, we should look to learn from both and apply the knowledge we identify with, thus creating our own philosophies. In this essay I wish to do exactly that; to compare and contrast these two ideologies in order to better understand them and help others do the same. First we must understand what is Deontology. The word deontology when broken down to its roots literally means, the study of the nature of duty and obligation.