Essay on Kants Categorical Imperative

Kant's categorical imperative offers a means for the evaluation of moral actions and arriving at moral judgments. Kant argued that the principle of morality which he called the categorical imperative is objective, unconditional and rationally necessary and has to be followed. The case study covers the use of deception in interpersonal communication with patients having Alzheimers disease. Communication is essential for revealing the truth, but the question is, what is the ethical value of telling the truth?. This is in line with the Kant categorical imperative which shows that from ethical evaluations, many values can be fundamental and correct. Caregivers for dementia patients can apply shared reality where the foster new engagements in interpersonal communication. Apparently, caregivers have been in a dilemma on using deception in contact. Caregivers have achieved this through concealment, falsification, and equivocation. Dementia patients often have feelings of loss of safety and control, which care provides can ease by responding to the emotional pain through interpersonal communication. The Interpersonal Deception Theory (IDT) has been used by caregivers communicate with dementia patients to make strategic decisions in engaging deceptive dialogue. These strategic choices include the management of behavior, information, and image. Caregivers have expressed having emotional torture (Spencer, 2017). This is because they are divided between telling the truth or providing inaccurate information to the dementia patient. In fulfilling the categorical imperative of Kant, many professional care plans advocate for morality, which is doing what is best for the wellbeing of a patient. Caregivers violate Kant's categorical imperative when they decline to enter into the world of a dementia patient, and it shows lack of responsibility on their part.

Consequentialist Ethics

Consequentialism holds the view that morality entails the production of the right consequences. Consequences of action referred to all that a conflict produces. This ethical school of thought evaluates whether an act is good and its fundamental questions which easy decisions have helped me in choosing it as an essential point of evaluating the case study. Caregivers would have to ask the impact which their behaviors have in the world and the entire medical practice. Negligence in the provision of crucial information which arises from information manipulation can lead to dire medical consequences. A dementia patient can have his or her condition worsen because of inappropriate information. The second question that forms decision which a caregiver has to grapple with is, "is my behavior causing more harm than good? Giving inaccurate information to patients who have dementia can lead to more harm than good. Ethical dilemma for caregivers sets in during the consideration of the violation of the social norm of telling the truth. Caregivers use the Expectancy Violation Theory (EVT) which states that everyone expects how people interact with them including components of interpersonal communication. However, when this is applied, it goes contrary to the ideals of truth and can lead to more harm than good to the dementia patient (Spencer, 2017) The final question that caregivers can grapple with is, "Is my behavior making the world a better place? Apparently, when lying to patients, the world is not safer. However, caregivers do not folly this approach because the moment they violate the expectations of patients, the receivers of the message begin feeling distracted and uncomfortable. Dealing with the ethical dilemma offering the truth is essential.

Reference

Spencer, E. A. (2017). The Use of Deception in Interpersonal Communication with Alzheimer's Disease Patients. The Midwest Quarterly, 58(2), 176.