Ethical Dilemma Analysis: Kant and Virtue Ethics - HUM 1155

This essay delves into the ethical dilemma of physician-assisted suicide, specifically examining the case of Frank Van Den Bleeken, a prisoner in Belgium. The analysis employs two prominent ethical theories: Kant's theory of ethics and Virtue Ethics. The essay begins with an introduction to ethical ...Read More

2020
ETHICAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS
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ETHICAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS 1
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Ethical Dilemma.........................................................................................................................2
Ethical Theories.........................................................................................................................3
Kant Theory of Ethics............................................................................................................3
Virtue Ethics...........................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the ethical theories..................................................................................................4
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5

ETHICAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS 2
Introduction
The ethical dilemma is a situation in which the result of the decision-making process
is neither accepted nor rejected. In such cases, the ethical theories are applied which guides
whether the action is to be done or not. The report is focused on analysing an ethical dilemma
in which the prisoner request for physician-assisted suicide; therefore, it is required to be
analysed whether it is ethical or not. Kant theory of ethics and Virtue ethics is being used as
ethical theories to analyse the situation within the case.
Ethical Dilemma
The case is based on the physician-assisted suicide in Belgium, as the nation does not
have any specific law that leads towards death penalty to the prisoner, therefore the law
allows people to undergo physician-assisted suicide in the case when they are not able to bear
the mental or the physical pain. In the case, Bleeken has been in prison from the past thirty
years, and due to the pain, that he was suffering within the prison, he requested the
government to undergo physician-assisted suicide. Therefore, as per the law Bleeken can be
allowed by the government to undergo physician-assisted suicide under certain
circumstances, but the ethical dilemma lies in the situation that whether it is ethical to allow
such procedure.
The ethics suggest that the activities are moral only when it does not result in harm to
individuals within the society, but in the case mentioned, physician-assisted suicide will
result in death of individual, on the other hand, the individual is suffering from unbearable
psychological pain, due to which the individual is living his life in mental as well as physical
pain. Therefore, the ethical dilemma lies within the situation whether it is ethical to allow
such an individual to end his life or not.

ETHICAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS 3
Ethical Theories
Kant Theory of Ethics
Kant describes that the goodwill is the single moral principle that allows the person to
chose moral ends to the situation. Kant believes that human beings are free and they should
be allowed to deciding what is right or wrong. Kant theory does not focus on the result of the
action, the theory defines that if the person believes that the activities conducted are right
then the result will not justify it as unethical, the action should be conducted with the
goodwill of the individual (Dion, 2012). The end principle of Kant defines that the people
should treat others as an end in themselves, which means that the human beings are rational
and their rationality should not be undermined by others (BBC, 2014). In the case of
physician-assisted suicide, Kant theory of ethics does not find any ethical justification to the
situation and does not support the situation, as the physician is manipulating the human
rationale in the case of assisted suicide, by guiding him to kill himself rather than focusing
upon creating happiness for the individual.
Virtue Ethics
Virtue Ethics is based on the Aristotle inspirations, that defines that a person is
classified as virtuous if he has ideal character traits. Virtue ethics is based on the moral
characteristics of an individual rather than focusing upon the actions of the individual. Virtue
ethics does not guide the way an individual should act in a situation, it just follows a principle
that an act is ethical if it is conducted by any virtuous individual in a specific situation. There
are a certain set of virtues that should be present within a virtuous human, as a virtuous
person will always focus on the self-respect and will treat all human beings impartially and
equally (Bright & Winn, 2013).

ETHICAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS 4
In the case of physician-assisted suicide, the virtue theory would support the situation
if the physician is virtuous and if the physician has the virtues in his character then the action
recommended by him will be ethical, and the act of physician-assisted suicide will be ethical
for the individual. As if the death of an individual is a better option than suffering from the
mental and physical pain, in the view of a virtuous individual, then it is an ethical option
otherwise it is unethical to allow someone to follow such procedure.
Analysis of the ethical theories
Kant theory of ethics focus on the fact that the ethical decision should be followed by
the goodwill and ensuring human rationale, therefore in case of self-killing the though of the
assisted suicide does not come from the self-respect, the action should focus upon creating
self-happiness rather than focusing upon self-killing, then it may be justified to be ethical as
per the theory of ethics (Budić, 2017). Kant defines that the acts of human being are defined
by his goodwill, also a human being is free to decide what is good or bad, but there should be
a sense of self-preservation or an act that benefits to others or the individual, therefore in case
of assisted suicide the result will not be in favour of the individual, as after the death how the
individual can live a free and a rational life. Therefore, Kant theory of ethics does not support
physician-assisted suicide to be an ethical decision, the individual should act so that he can
find inner peace rather than attempting suicide (Wolemonwu, 2019).
Virtue ethics, on the other hand, is not based on a set of principles, it is focused on the
moral values and the experience of a moral person within the society. therefore, it does not
provide clear guidance that the individual should follow. As it is based on the decision taken
by an individual having a moral character, then the decision or the action is ethical,
otherwise, any action that is not supported by the moral person is unethical. Therefore, if the
doctor has a moral character, then his act of guiding the individuals to undergo assisted

ETHICAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS 5
suicide is ethical, as the decision given by the doctor is based on the moral characteristics and
justifies that death is better than suffering from mental and physical pain. If the doctor being
moral thinks that the individual should focus on being respectful towards his life, then he may
not support self-killing as an ethical option for the individual irrespective of the situation in
which the individual is in (Jordan, 2017).
Conclusion
Ethics guides an individual about how the decisions should be taken so that any
conflict can be avoided. The case explains that Bleeken request for physician-assisted suicide,
but there is an ethical dilemma in allowing Bleeken for the choice. Kant theory of ethics and
virtue ethics are the ethical concepts that define assisted suicide in different perspectives. The
Kant theory defines that the suicidal attempt in unethical and does not depend on situations,
there is no such reason due to which individual should attempt self-killing. On the other hand,
virtue ethics does not provide clear guidance about physician-assisted suicide, being ethical
or unethical. Virtue ethics defines that it simply depends upon the moral character of the
individual who is making the decision or guiding an individual.

ETHICAL DILEMMA ANALYSIS 6
References
BBC. (2014). Duty-based ethics. Retrieved from BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/duty_1.shtml#h3
Bright, D. S., & Winn, B. A. (2013). Reconsidering Virtue: Differences of Perspective in
Virtue Ethics and the Positive Social Sciences. Journal of Business Ethics, 445-460.
Budić, M. (2017). Suicide, Euthanasia And The Duty To Die: A Kantian Approach To
Euthanasia. Philosophy and Society, 88-114.
Dion, M. (2012). Are ethical theories relevant for ethical leadership? Leadership &
Organization Development Journal, 4-24.
Jordan, M. (2017). The Ethical Considerations of Physician-assisted Suicide. Dialogue &
Nexus, 1-7.
Wolemonwu, V. C. (2019). Richard Dean: The Value of Humanity in Kant’s Moral Theory.
Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy .