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Christine Thesis.pdf (618.55 KB)
ETD Abstract Container
Abstract Header
The Blame Game: An Axiological Approach to the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing
Author Info
Cleary, Christine Ann
Permalink:
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1385376307
Abstract Details
Year and Degree
2013, MA, Kent State University, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Philosophy.
Abstract
The Doctrine of Doing and Allowing (DDA) is the ethical principle that doing harm is morally worse than allowing harm. The objective of this thesis is to show that the DDA is not a viable principle without supplementation. Deontological and consequentialist approaches to the DDA are explored in this thesis. Both approaches are rejected due to the limitations of the binary approach to harms---the binary approach to harms is the assumption that the badness of harms is best captured by two strict categories of doing and allowing. This thesis develops a sliding-scale approach to harms. This approach is developed by using axiology---value theory. Value theory is used by consequentialism to determine what goods should be maximized by action and how those goods are ranked. This thesis uses the axiological methodology of Fred Feldman to create a more complex account of the badness of harms. The final chapter of this thesis applies the sliding-scale approach to harms to three end-of-life, medical cases.
Committee
Deborah Barnbaum, Ph. D. (Advisor)
Linda Williams, Ph. D. (Committee Member)
Kimberly Garchar, Ph. D. (Committee Member)
Manacy Pai, Ph. D. (Committee Member)
Pages
113 p.
Subject Headings
Ethics
;
Medical Ethics
;
Philosophy
Keywords
Doctrine of Doing and Allowing, Deontology, Ethics, Morality, Medical Ethics, Consequentialism, Foot, Feldman, Quinn, Rights, Duty, Consequences, Action, Harm, End of life, death, dying, medical decision-making, blame, moral responsibility
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Citations
Cleary, C. A. (2013).
The Blame Game: An Axiological Approach to the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing
[Master's thesis, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1385376307
APA Style (7th edition)
Cleary, Christine.
The Blame Game: An Axiological Approach to the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing.
2013. Kent State University, Master's thesis.
OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center
, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1385376307.
MLA Style (8th edition)
Cleary, Christine. "The Blame Game: An Axiological Approach to the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing." Master's thesis, Kent State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1385376307
Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)
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Document number:
kent1385376307
Download Count:
1,805
Copyright Info
© 2013, some rights reserved.
The Blame Game: An Axiological Approach to the Doctrine of Doing and Allowing by Christine Ann Cleary is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.