What Are The Four Ethical Theories In Nursing

The knowledge of ethics and the subsequent theories that have evolved from it is paramount to the profession of nursing. These theories assist nurses with identifying potential problems and developing skills required to determine and justify decisions in given situations. Furthermore, they work to enhance and shape an individual’s ethical beliefs and values. There are a number of ethical theories that have been introduced throughout nursing including the widely agreed upon four; deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics and ethics of care. Of these four, the ethics of care theory is the strongest and most readily relatable to the profession of psychiatry and nursing while the three aforementioned ones are not. This essay is going to explain
(Yeo, Page 58). A distinct moral theory that emphasizes the importance of responsibility, ethics of care is most concerned with the concept of the relationship rather than consequences or rules. Gilligan stated that girls and women would approach a dilemma in a more contextualized and narrative way whose primary focus was to resolve the details of a problem situation. Males, on the other hand, tend to subscribe to a concept known as “justice of care”. This approach is based on the application of more general abstract principles that do not consider the unique, and at times, differing circumstances that surround a case (Yeo, Page 59). Care ethics view human beings as interdependent entities who value caring relationships and recognize the moral value of emotional feelings. It focuses on virtues associated with care and views this as being a moral sentiment and response in the context of these relationships. This includes concepts such as compassion, empathy, loyalty, and sympathy. Care ethics encourages altruism in which to create a balance between care of self and
Frederick Nietzche expressed in his writings that subservient traits were being favoured due to the perceived oppression that women faced as a result of the male dominated theories that existed before it (Discussions of care, feminist, relational ethics thread, Oct 4th/13). It can also lead to gender bias where females are favoured in the caring roles rather then males who are typically viewed as being in the “justice role” where the end result is most valued (Yeo, Page 60). It is important to remember that ethics of care is not gender-specific and can certainly be applied to males as it does females. The same can be said for females who gravitate more towards the ethics of justice way of thinking. Another criticism of this theory is that is can be viewed as an extension of the virtue theory wherein the concept of compassion, caring and interdependence are viewed as virtues rather than an independent ethical theory capable of standing on its own. In the fight to place value on “feminine traits”, it is important not to devalue these traditionally “masculine traits” in order to not alienate those who do not share similar