Background
Human beings desire to act in a way that improves their life. This mainly entails acting ethically both at an individual and community level, including the conduct of governments and businesses. People have different moral values which have resulted in the creation of different moral theories. A moral theory is a structured statement that seeks to describe a concept of fact. It gives detailed information as to why a particular action is right or why people should act in a certain way. There are numerous moral theories that have been developed overtime.
Theories
The focus of this paper is on two key moral theories; utilitarianism and virtue ethics theory. Under the theory of utilitarianism, actions are considered morally correct if and only if they capitalize on the good. On the other hand, utilitarianism can apply if and only if actions curtails the bad (Santa Clara University, 2015). The virtue ethics theory is defined based on the actions of individuals under the influence of their traditional virtues. The theory is largely connected to Aristotle, a renowned Greek philosopher.
Explanation
The moral principle of utilitarianism advocates for actions which will generate the utmost amount of gain over and above any harm for each person affected. Utilitarianism works only for maximizing the good regardless of the manner in which the benefits are produced including the use of manipulation, lies or coercion (Santa Clara University, 2015). The virtue ethics theory defines an individual’s actions based on their conduct or good character that they have developed in themselves. The focus of the virtue ethics theory is for the people to develop good character and shun bad vices of character.
Framework for Ethical Decision Making
Utilitarianism is a common way of thinking in the day to day human conduct as it touches on many of the decisions that have to be made and that have an impact on human life. This includes deciding on the drugs that are manufactured and sold or offered to the population (Santa Clara University, 2015). In 2019, the world experienced a major pandemic called COVID-19, which distorted the normal living conditions. The different measures formulated to contain the spread of the disease raise different ethical issues that need to be assessed. Below, I apply the Markkula framework for ethical decision making to the vaccination against COVID-19.
Step 1: Recognize an Ethical Issue
In the midst of the pandemic various organizations commenced research activities targeted at finding an appropriate vaccine for the disease. Till now different vaccines have been manufactured. The government rolled out major vaccination campaigns to vaccinate as many people as possible in order to reduce the spread of the disease and restore to normal human order. However, the vaccination drive raises some ethical concern in society given the manner in which it is being promoted. In fact, different legislation have been developed to make vaccination mandatory among the population, such as the AB 455 (McLean, 2021). Furthermore, some drugs have been found to have some negative effects among different people in the community.
Step 2: Get the Facts
COVID-19 has affected over 43.2 million people in the US resulting in deaths of close to 700,000 individuals. Just about 182 million people have been fully vaccinated in the country against a total population of slightly over 333 million (Elflein, 2021). Therefore, the risk of transmission remains high.
Step 3: Evaluate Alternative Actions
Different alternatives can apply to this case, including the utilitarian approach, the common good approach, the rights approach, and the virtue approach.
Step 4: Choose the Best Alternative
In this case, the utilitarian approach would be the most suitable as it would generate well-being in the community compared to the harm it can cause.
Step 5: Act and Reflect on the Outcome
Vaccination will help to reduce cases of COVID-19 as well as the rate of transmission. Therefore, over the long-term it is the best course of action.
References
Elflein, J. (2021). Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the U.S. – Statistics & facts. Statista.
McLean, M. R. (2021). Thinking ethically about mask and vaccine mandates. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.
Santa Clara University. (2015). A framework for ethical decision making. Markkula Center for Applied Ethics.