On July 14, during a family vacation on Martinique, a small Caribbean island, Jean’s nephew Pierre is bitten by an exotic replica insect and suffers a severe allergic reaction. From his knowledge as a former pharmacist Jean is aware that Pierre is at serious risk, and may even die, if he doesn’t obtain a particular medication. There is a pharmacy on the island, but the pharmacist is unwilling and legally unable to provide the medication without a prescription from a licensed doctor.
After trying to reach a doctor, Jean learns that July 14 is an important French holiday known as Pastille Day and that no doctor is reachable within the required time. Jean, frantic with worry, decides to take matters into his own hands. He goes to a local internet cafe© and uses his network ID and knowledge of the ELM Pharmacy’s security system to “impersonate” a health care provider and prescribe the necessary medication. The island pharmacist accepts the prescription and provides the medication.
Pierre survives. 1. Kantian: Basic principles:Kantian think that we need to use the moral laws to restrain human ‘s behavior rand every moral laws itself should based on reason. Kantian have a series of system info to prove whether one thing is correct or not. He think that good will is always good even if it cause harm eventually. We should not focus on what we want to do,but what we ought to do. There are two most important formulation of Kantian.
First,one action is moral only if we build a moral rule according to this action rand make everyone follow this rule ,(make it become a universal law)it will not produce a logical contradiction . Second ,people should be the end of a moral action,we should never use people as a mean to the end (achieve some propose). Analysis the Scenario: According to the second formula of Kantian -By making the prescription himself and giving it the pharmacist to get the medicine,Jean treated the harmonist on the island as a mean to the end -saving his nephew. T is wrong for Jean to cheat the pharmacist ,and treat him as a medicine-produce machine rather than Turing to a licensed doctor for help and get the prescription. Life use the first formula,we make his action as a rule:’We can forge a prescription by ourselves which is against our professional responsibility to cheat the pharmacy and get medicine in order to save some personalizes”,if everyone follow this rule the prescription become meaningless. Everyone can get any medicine they want without getting the permit of doctor,then the pharmacy will not trust the restriction anymore,and also if any one can violate their professional responsibility to intrude the security system ,the profession become nameless,and people will not trust professional people like pharmacists ,so they will not go to ephemera to get medicine,so it lead to a contradiction . So it is not a moral action. Conclusion: The Kantian is against Jean ‘s action. 2.
Act Utilitarianism Basic principles:One action is moral if its net effect (all the effect it will cause)will produce more happiness than unhappiness of the affected beings( all the beings hat was affect by this action),in other word, it can increase the total happiness of society(it has nothing to do with the willing and the attitude of the person,but only focus on the consequence of an action). Before we evaluate the morality of an action ,we should choose a unit to measure the happiness ,and evaluate all the beings that affected by the action,and their happiness is increasing or decreasing after this action was done.
Analysis the Scenario: In this Scenario,all the thing we talk about is about saving life. So we use the term of “save” or “kill” person instead of using saving people from ungenerous situation will increase the happiness of the society,and kill people will decrease the happiness. Len this scene ,Jane use the fake prescription to get the medicine and save the life of his nephew. And pharmacist did not notice that so nobody lose benefit from this action and there is no health information was revealed so nobody lose anything. So the happiness will increase will be a good action. Conclusion: The Act Utilitarianism is for Jean ‘s action. . Rule Utilitarianism Basic principle:One action is moral only if when we expand it as a moral rule,and very one follow it,it will lead to the greatest increase in total happiness,(its universal adoption will cause the greatest also fonts on the consequences of the action just as other Utilitarianism. Analysis the Scenario: In this case ,fife make jean’s action as a rule ,it made be:” We can use our power as profession and intrude the security system(which is against the ethical code of profession) to the forge a prescription by ourselves to cheat the pharmacy and get medicine without going to see the doctor. . What will be the benefit of this action ? We can save some persons’ lives in time when all the doctors are very us or there is no doctor nearby or at that time. Especially when the illness of the persons are very serious and can not wait for a long time fit will be a useful way, However ,there are also many serious problem will be caused by universal adoption of the rule. First,if anyone can intrude the security system use their professional right , many important information will lose and many people’s privacy will be violated.
And people will not believe professional person anymore. Second,if someone want to kill themselves the may forge the prescription and get some sleeping pills,so it may even cause more people’s death. Third, if any one use their power of profession to do things they want , No profession will be trust anymore and the order of the society will be completely disrupted. Fourth,some criminal may forge the prescription to get some anesthetics or some medicines which have poison and commit a crime with them.
Fifth,some people may think it is expensive to see the doctor ,so they write the medicine which they think can cure their illness on the prescription and get them. However sometimes some medicines may cause chemical reaction and produce the poison when they meet together. And some medicine may not be suitable for some person, for example ,some people may be allergic to penicillin. So without getting the permission of doctor,fife can get any medicine we want (but we do not have the knowledge of medicine) it will cause many serious accidents and even kill more and more people.
Finally,elf everyone follow this rule, the pharmacy will not trust prescription anymore,so the prescription become useless . So tin conclusion,the harms cause by the rule will outweigh the benefits . Therefore ,the action of Jean is morally wrong. Conclusion: The Rule Utilitarianism is against Jean ‘s action. 4. Social Contract Theory Basic conception:Social contract means establish a set of moral rules to govern the relationship among the citizens and the government .
The government should have the ability to enforce this rule. A moral rule is correct rational people will all accept it as binding because its benefits to the community. Alt held the view that every one in the community have their basic rights and liberties. Meanwhile, they also have duties and obligations And it allow the inequalities in the society however, it must satisfy two conditions:first , the inequalities just in the positions in the society that everyone in the society will have fair pouting to get in .
Second ,they are for the benefit of the least-advantaged members of the society. (which means we should give most benefits to most poor and weak person in the society). When we use social contract theory to analysis the problem ,we should construct a rule. Then we can assume we are one of the member of that society,but we do not know who we are in that society ,we will obey this rule or not. Which means even we will also have the possibility to experience the inequalities,we will continue to obey the rule,then the rule should e moral.
Analysis the Scenario: In this case, we can construct a rule that :”Any one in the society can violate their responsibilities of profession,and intrude the security information system in order to achieve his own goal. “According to the social contract theory ,every should have their basic rights, for example ,keeping their privacy. This rule will obviously make some persons lose their information hurt their privacy right and may cause the mass lose of the information. And also this rule is unequal to the person who giving their information to the security system.
Assume I was person in that society without knowing who I am, I will obviously against this rule because it will hurt most people’s benefit,and people who is work on this profession will not receive the inequality so the inequality is not in the position that everyone have equal opportunity to assume. And also this inequality is not for the greatest benefits of the least advantage people,many poor and weak people may save their information in the system. So the inequality can not be justified. So the rule is wrong,the action is not moral. Conclusion: The Social Contract Theory is against Jean ‘s action.
