Moral Reasoning in Bioethics and Posterity

Abstract

In the context of normative ethics, two main theories in moral analysis that have provided a framework for evaluating moral judgments are the deontological and the teleological perspectives. These two approaches are usually distinguished on the basis of two opposing views: while teleological argumentation as commonly understood affirms that we have to evaluate each action primarily by analyzing its consequences and the end to which it aims, deontological argumentation maintains that actions are inherently right or wrong with little attention to their consequences. These opposing ethical theories underlie most of the disputes in normative ethics. Accordingly, some knowledge of these theories is indispensable for moral evaluation in bioethical issues because the extant literature continues to draw on methods and conclusions germane to these theories.¹