In case of the question asked above, “Does Dr. L have a moral duty to his patient to inform him that he is receiving the placebo and the drug is effective?” Kantian theory would probably would agree to this statement, they are supposed to inform them. The belief of Kant was that some actions such as telling a lie are prohibited, even in particular cases where happiness was evidenced due the action (Kleingeld, 22). Before acting on a given situation, Kantians should have two questions in mind as noted down in Kantian ethics: (i) “Can I rationally will that everyone act as I propose to act?” If the answer is no then it is important to take the proper action. (ii) “Does my action respect the goals of human beings rather than merely using them for my own purpose?” Again, if the answer is no, then we must not perform the action. As per Kant understanding, these two questions were comparable. The theory by Kant is an illustration of a deontological ethical theory. The theories additionally state that, “the right or wrongness of action does not depend on their significance but on whether they fulfil our duty.” Kant alleged that a supreme attitude of morality does exist and to which he referred as “The Categorical Imperative.” This is what governs our moral obligations. An imperative can be used to denote a command to take action. An example of this could be command such as, “stop smoking!” this is a form of an imperative (Kleingeld, 23). Kant additionally, notes what is it that makes a person to be good. This perception is what Kant want to move along with his theory and the expectations which are determined by the uncompromising authoritative perspective. In this theory of Kant, individual actions may be right or wrong and wholly depends on the moral standards of the concerned parties. The actions that a person perform is what defines his moral worth, but more has to be done to quantify if the action is right or wrong and not by merely looking at the action that has been done. Kant arguments is that an individual is positive or negative relying on the incentive of their actions and not necessary on the significance of the consequences of those actions. The word motivation depicts the thing that causes one to take certain action. In other words, the reason that is making one to do something. Further analysis of Kant is that a person can have the ethical value if they are inspired by morality (Charlton, 11). This means if the sentiments or wishes initiate them to accomplish a task, then the actions give them the ethical responsibility.
Decision
I concur with the theory of Kantian that Dr. L has a moral duty to his patient to inform him that he is receiving the placebo and the drug is effective
Défense
A. According to the theory description by Kant, Dr. L is obligated morally to tell his patient that he was placed on placebo and that the treatment so far has proved to be effective. This is the right thing to do as Kant explains that this action does respect the objectives of people instead of using them for one own resolution. It is in the correct context to inform a patient like Bruce who has been a patient of Dr. L for quite a period of time. Kantian theory prohibits the act of lying for the purpose of making someone happy.
B. Various researches over the past couple of decade have shown that placebo is an effective way of treatment. Several patients have been tried via the method and positive results have been demonstrated. Since the mortality rates, in this case, are over 70%, then one can ask themselves if it is morally correct or not inform Bruce the good benefit he is getting from treatment through placebo treatment. Use of placebo is a vital element in current time’s study of medical conditions. Some scholars have even supported the use of placebo in case the diseases are considered to be fatal and by the use of placebo their fatality is either reduced or eliminated. By use of controlled tests, placebo is regarded as the best standard for evaluating the efficacy of a recent medical treatment, procedure or a drug. This belief has many researchers and scholars backing it and also, it’s integrated into certain aspects of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that control new drug endorsements. If medical practitioners want to reduce the mortality rates brought about by this fatal illness, the placebo-regulated trials are a good way to start with.
C. I strongly trust the nonmaleficence and beneficence arguments since the participants of this trails are all adults and are suffering from a terminal illness that kills more than half of victims. The victims will not in most case want to gamble with their lives and may take any option that is available. By informing Bruce the effectiveness of placebo, Dr. L will be promoting his health further due to the Psychological satisfactory that he will get. By doing this Dr. L will be talking the truth which as described by the Kantian theory. This theory prohibits the telling of a lie. Dr. L will have fulfilled his duty of informing his patient about the situation of his illness. The Dr. L moral consciousness will be the one to guide him in viewing whether what he is carrying out with his patients is either right or wrong. But since the process he is carrying out is to help his patients, then I can support his work as being morally right.
References
Charlton, W. Kant's Theory of Knowledge: An Outline of One Central Argument in the Critique of Pure Reason'. Routledge, 2016.
Kleingeld, Pauline. "The Principle of Autonomy in Kant's Moral Theory: Its Rise and Fall." (2018).
