Moral Views on Plastic Surgery - Assignment Example

Moral Views on Plastic Surgery Moral Views on Plastic Surgery Introduction Plastic surgery has raised moral questions in recent times, with many people questioning its real purpose in life. It has continued heated arguments with regard to the reason one would want to change how he or she looks. Ethicists have even gone ahead and used morality theories to explain the motivations behind plastic surgery. In this essay, three basic motivations will be considered and discussed in the context of utilitarianism and deontological ethics. The first involves the use of plastic surgery solely to change one’s appearance as a way of boosting his or her self-esteem, as opposed to the traditional surgical purposes, such as correcting deformities (Warren & Neligan, 2013). Second will be the evident willingness of surgical operators to offer layaway surgery plans that are arguably meant to help patients afford surgery while at the same time carry out illegal plastic surgery operations. Finally, this essay will explore the question of how the American pop culture as well as the different media channels have influenced personal awareness for millions of people, making them indulge into the modern ideals of attractiveness and, as a result, driving them towards having unnecessary plastic surgery. Sociocultural and religious aspects will also be explored. Discussion John Stuart Mill’s ethical theory of utilitarianism this suggests that the basis of morality is the action that one chooses to take. The ethical decision made in this regard should be focused on maximizing utility or pleasure. He states that people generally focus on the achievement of pleasure, meaning that they should engage in making decisions that are confined within the premise of utilitarianism (HAUSKELLER, 2011). In what he refers to as the greatest happiness principle, he adds that one’s action should be judged on its extent to rightness or wrongness based on the extent of pleasure or pain that it causes for the highest number of people. However, it has been argued that there are two different kinds of pleasure, which include bodily pleasure and intellectual pleasure. Intellectual pleasure should take precedence, owing to the fact that it stimulates the mind and amounts to more benefits for more people. For instance, a person that composes a good song creates pleasure for millions of people while one who listens to music creates pleasure for himself. As such, composing his of higher pleasure than listening, just like having sex to have a child than doing it for pleasure. Having discussed the ethical insights presented by Mill, a look at the three motivations mentioned earlier can be explored in an effort to determine the extent to which it is (or is not) ethical. People on whom plastic surgery procedures are conducted can be said to do it because they want to maximize their pleasures. Most likely, therefore, Mill would justify plastic surgery on this account (Hodges, 2008). However, one would argue that seeking personal pleasure, such as boosting self-esteem, is a lower pleasure and does not, to some extent, deserve priority. This is because such a person only seeks to meet a pleasure that is only beneficial to one, which is egotism, while possibly creating the wrong impression for the rest of the society. With regard to the second issue, which involves the surgical plans that doctors’ offer and the processes of paying for them, the most probable stand that Mill would take is that their legality and payment processes are unessential to morality. As such, if a patient or a client comes out of a plastic surgery with higher self-esteem and a better appearance, then there is no question of morality. On the other hand, one should not have to come out of a surgery, which has possibly been overpriced and ends up in pain as this would be unethical on the part of the doctor. This demonstrates greed, which amounts to unethical practice. To this end, Mill would still argue that clients that decide to take such procedures knowing full well that they are illegal are the ones that made the wrong decision, not the doctor, meaning that there is nothing immoral on the part of the doctor. The last part is on the American pop culture and media influence, which has been found by many to influence how people view their bodies and the changes they would wish to make about them. Mill would most probably disagree with the fact that they have an influence on how people see themselves and, as a result, they are immoral (Schroeder, 2004). This is because the media cannot be held responsible for the personal decisions that people make about their most personal aspects, such as appearance. However, he would agree that the media has a potent influence and drives people towards the lower pleasures of the improvement of their appearances. The second theoretical perspective that will be used in this essay is Immanuel Kant’s deontology. According to Kant, an ethical decision is morally right if it is made out of duty and is done with pure intentions. He suggests that people should never allow biased experiences and past events help them determine what is or is not morally right, thus should make every decision an end itself. He mentions that they should be focused on the moral imperative should be the primary focus of any ethical decisions. The moral imperative has three rules. The first one states that a maxim or an end must be made a common law or should be formulated as to be possible for everyone to follow. Secondly, every decision that a person makes should be as to consider other people as ends, not as means to accomplish an objective, meaning that one should not have a hidden motive as he or she asks for something from someone (Holzhey & Mudroch, 2010). The third one states that one should make maxims just as he would if he was in any legislative capacity and he or she must see himself as a foundation of moral law. This perspective is seen by many as legalistic and, from this point of view, it is of extreme relevance in the context of moral issues in plastic surgery. People that seek plastic surgery have the common belief that it will help them look better and, as a result, be happier. According to the moral presentations that Kant has presented, he would appear to be against the practice because plastic surgery is not used for purposes of life preservation and is associated with means that result in pain. Also, it is not a matter of duty and pure intentions. In addition, it emerges that plastic surgery is based on subjective contingences, which cannot be made universal, as well as love for only oneself because humans are semi-rational beings. Again, there is no aspect of duty or put intent in it (Uleman, 2010). On the second issue motivation mentioned in the introductory section, which concerns layaway plans and illegal practices, Kant would strongly disagree with it, based on the fact that it demonstrates no common good – if anyone had a layaway plan, no one would truly own anything, and this should even be legally questionable. With regard to the legality of the issue, it is not something that can be made universal because legality, in itself, would not exist and bad surgical practices would be extremely prevalent. Kant would also add that there is a moral problem with the influence of the media and the American pop culture. This is based on the fact that media and culture are objectively meant to make an influence of how we live and behave. They are known to have direct impacts on ways of living, which means stakeholder should be focused on promoting harmless and positive lifestyles (Uleman, 2010). In simple terms, the media and pop culture directly tells society to behave in a certain way and make one look better because that is the standard that modernity, as promoted by the media, has set. In addition, many surgeries are carried out covertly and, for that reason, cannot be a source of personal freedom. In this regard, the media influences people to use plastic surgery as a ridiculous means to happiness while at the same taking clients’ money through repetitive adverts and shows. This is an extent of harm that plastic surgery brings to people, which should not be legally or morally acceptable. Plastic surgery has also been associated with numerous sociocultural and religious issues. For instance, from the perspective of religious ethics, the actions that one should take should not harm others or even his own self. It should be for the good of humanity, which is the ultimate element of happiness. Thousands of cases have been reported of people involved in botched plastic surgery operations, which is an acrimonious result while they were looking for happiness. As such, it is agreeable that this is not a morally right way to look for happiness and, for this sole reason, should not be promoted within humanity, meaning that it should not be part of society. Many people even look to grow gracefully with no diseases and through natural processes. In this regard, one would wish to mention that American pop culture and western media have been used to promote the wrong impressions of beauty and attractiveness, involving unnatural ways of appearance modification. With this in mind, Kantianism is a more critical and affirmative ethical perspective as it looks at both harm and restriction and compares them to common good. The result is that plastic surgery is not a way of looking for happiness and, as such, it has a moral problem. Conclusion This essay examines three major motivations behind plastic surgery and discusses them in the context of utilitarianism and deontology while also integrating personal views. Utilitarianism, as has been seen in the discussion of its insights, would be inclined towards the support of plastic surgery, simply because it eventually makes the client happy. As such, it should face no restrictions. However, Kantian ethics appears not to support the idea of using plastic surgery as a mere means to seek happiness. This is because it is a short-term approach, does not involve any sense of duty, and does not amount to any extent of universal good, meaning that it cannot be made a standard for looking for happiness (it ultimately does more harm than good). References Hauskeller, M. (2011). No Philosophy for Swine: John Stuart Mill on the Quality of Pleasures. Utilitas 23.4, 428-446. Hodges, A. (2008). A-Z of Plastic Surgery. Cambridge: Oxford University Press. Holzhey, H., & Mudroch, V. (2010). The A to Z of Kant and Kantianism. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. Schroeder, J. L. (2004). The Triumph of Venus: The Erotics of the Market. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Uleman, J. K. (2010). An Introduction to Kants Moral Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Warren, R. J., & Neligan, P. (2013). Plastic Surgery: Volume 2: Aesthetic Surgery (Expert Consult - Online). New York: Elsevier Health Sciences. Read More