Immanuel Kant Do No Harm

Concepts of right and wrong may have been part of man before he could walk on two legs. The Greek civilization solidified the ethical constructs that are pillars of morality today. Konstantinidou, Pavlides, & Fiska state “Greek mythology appears to have set the foundations for ethics and deontology in medicine and in Europe; these foundations were later used by the Hippocratic physicians in their effort to serve patients (Konstantinidou, Pavlides, & Fiska, 2016). The moral obligation to “Do no harm” is the Greek legacy and duty of all car providers, not only physicians. Utilizing Deontology in any situation generally guides one to correct moral direction. Deontology is rule based urging the individual to do right without other
It allows the nature of the act to define it as right or wrong yet states that harm is unacceptable. The outcome is of little consequence. It holds that there are conflict free universal ethical rules which may be used by humans as a moral compass. The moral rules are binding at the highest to all. The 18th century philosopher Immanuel Kant introduced the the categorical imperative inferring that moral correctness constitutes universal law. For example, reason has it that lying is morally wrong. To make an exception for lying to a Nazi to protect a Jew from harm is unethical. In the exception, a new opposing absolute allowing everyone to lye is created. It is not possible to universalize lying. All people must follow the same rule. Not following the universal rule makes the action wrong. Kant states “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of another, always at the same time as an end and never simply