Question

Read the following scenario and provide advice to the individual involved. You need to tell us what a Kantian would recommend doing here. Show your work – do not just tell us what they would recommend doing, explain why, using the moral theory, they would recommend this course of action Please answer the following question(s) in paragraph form. As a guide, your initial post needs to be around two paragraphs in length (what is most important however is that you fully answer the question(s) asked). To apply Kantianism, use the two formulations of the categorical imperative (the humanity as an end in itself and the universal law formulation). “My elderly aunt became ill and phoned me, a physician, to ask if she should call an ambulance. I surmised that she was severely dehydrated. From my hospital, I took a bag of saline, IV tubing, an IV lock and a needle. An unsuspecting nurse handed me the tape that secures the needle. I gave my aunt these fluids at home, and she soon felt better, as did I: my stealing $50 worth of medical supplies saved the taxpayers more than a thousand dollars for an E.R. visit. Did I do right?”

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Answer 1

No, I do not think that saving a few bucks and not taking her aunt to the hospital was a righ decision by the individual. I am saying this because if we talk about Kant's theory, it tells us that the rightness or wrongness of an actions does not depend on the consequences of the event but on whether we fulfilled our duty or not. In this case, by the action of the individual, may be the life of the aunt was saved but both his actions i.e. stealing medical supplies from the hospital and not taking her aunt to the hospital are ethically and morally wrong.

By the means of stealing, he has shown a deceitful character to his own hospital. The individual was inventive in curbing cost and saving few bucks but at the same time imprudent for her aunt's medical condition. In fact any healthcare professional would not have liked these gesture of the individual as treating an older person at home without the approval or supervision of any dedicated caregiver will be considered unhygienic. Her bedroom was not an optimal environment for the treatment and there are fair chances that he did not performed a complete assessment of the mefical condition. There could be a chance that his aunt was going through some additional medical conditions too apart from just normal dehydration and a necessary intervention was required.

Additionally, inspite of stealing, he could have normally asked for the supplies by the hospital. I do not think that the hospital would have denied his request. He money was such a big issue then he could have asked any for a healthcare expert from a local clinic to make a home visit and diagnose the condition.