Dax's biography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Dax's biography - Research Paper Example She believed that the treatments were going well even if her son did not believe these treatments to be effective (Burns, 2005). More importantly, Ada believed that God wanted her son to live and to fulfill his responsibilities to Him. And she clung to the belief that if God really wanted his son to die then he would have let him die. In the meantime, all efforts to keep him alive must be done, even if these methods were against Dax’s will and even if these methods caused him considerable pain and suffering (Burns, 2005). In understanding Ada’s position, the normative ethics is the most appropriate theory which can be used. Normative ethics â€Å"is devoted to identifying the conditions under which actions are morally right, or motives and intentions are morally good† (Shafer-Landau and Cuneo, 2007, p. 1). It is concerned with a person’s actions being morally right and good. In the case of Ada, she believed that it was morally right and proper to keep Dax alive for him to fulfill his duties to God. Normative ethics is focused on identifying the conditions where actions are deemed right, and motives are deemed wrong (Shafer-Landau and Cuneo, 2007).... The teleological theory can be used in order to justify Houston’s actions. Teleological is derived from the Greek word â€Å"telos† which means â€Å"ends† (Wittjen, 2003). This theory considers, more than anything else, the end goals of certain actions, or in some instances, the consequences of one’s actions. For Houston, his actions can be supported by this theory in the sense that his actions support the ends he wanted to achieve. He wanted to keep Dax alive because Dax would stand to gain in the end. The ends he wanted to seek, therefore justifies his actions of wanting to keep Dax alive. C. Dr. Charles Baxter Dr. Baxter believed initially that Dax’s request to die was due to his feelings of severe pain and shock. He believed that Dax lacked the mental capacity to make the right decision about his care. In considering the entire situation, Dr. Baxter believed that Dax’s actions were just related to his attempts to control his environment and therefore it was his job to provide medical care to the best of his duty (Burns, 2005). Dr. Baxter’s actions can be supported by the deontological theory. Deontology is based on the word â€Å"deonto† which means â€Å"duty† in Greek (Wittjen, 2003). This theory is based on a person’s duties and responsibilities and how people should act based on such duties and responsibilities. In this case, actions are based on these duties and these duties shall guide and designate whether or not a person is acting based on such duties (Wittjen, 2003). In the case of Dr. Baxter, his actions are based on his duties and responsibilities. His duty and responsibility is to provide medical care to Dax because he believed that Dax was not thinking logically. He felt