The Philosophical Approaches of Kants Deontology and...

In the 1997 film Extreme Measures a young British doctor, Guy Luthan, who is serving a residency in a New York hospital, is faced with some difficult moral and professional dilemmas. This film used Dr. Luthans dilemmas, which dealt with these sensitive issues of doing what is right regardless of the consequences involved, as well as questions involving scientific advancement and experimentation. How far can medicine go in the name of progress or helping humanity? Dr. Luthan discovers that homeless people were being used as guinea pigs in experimental research for the good of humanity. Using the philosophical approaches of Kants Deontology and Mills Utilitarianism, I will present the ethical parameters of Dr. Luthans dilemmas and how†¦show more content†¦He believes that we should never treat a rational being as merely a means to an end, but respect for all individuals; that they are unique and should be respected as a person, never to be sold out to the happiness of the majority. Rosenstand states Kant human beings and their bodies are not commodities to be used for someone elses purpose, even if that purpose may be the greater good and if the way to produce the most utility is to perform an act that violates the rights of a few, than it is morally right to perform that act, but shouldnt individuals rights be respected even if violating them would do more good for society as a whole? The homeless people did not volunteer for these experiments and were killed. Their rights were not respected, even though this research may ultimately provide a cure for spin al cord regeneration. Although I realize, especially being a nurse, that this is currently a much-heated ongoing debate in the medical field and I feel this is an area of much disregard for peoples rights. Kants deontological moral theory also claims that the right action in any given situation is determined by the categorical imperative, which provides a formulation by which we can apply our human reason to determine the right and rational thing to do, which is our duty to do it. This imperative applies to all rational beings independent of their desires and that reason tells us to follow no matter what. By his categorical imperative we