Dax's Case - Research Paper Example

In the meantime, all efforts to keep him alive must be done, even if these methods were against Dax’s will and even if these methods caused him considerable pain and suffering (Burns, 2005). In understanding Ada’s position, the normative ethics is the most appropriate theory which can be used. Normative ethics “is devoted to identifying the conditions under which actions are morally right, or motives and intentions are morally good” (Shafer-Landau and Cuneo, 2007, p. 1). It is concerned with a person’s actions being morally right and good.

In the case of Ada, she believed that it was morally right and proper to keep Dax alive for him to fulfill his duties to God. Normative ethics is focused on identifying the conditions where actions are deemed right, and motives are deemed wrong (Shafer-Landau and Cuneo, 2007). In this case, Ada’s actions are deemed right because they are focused on God’s will and on saving a person’s life; and Dax’s insistence on giving up his life is deemed wrong because they violate God’s will and are focused on robbing a person of his life.

Ada’s actions are therefore – based on her point of view – morally right and protected by God. Cowart’s friend and attorney, Rex Houston became his decision-maker when he became physically incapacitated. Houston wanted to keep Dax alive because of the lawsuit filed he filed against the oil company; and there was no financial benefits for Dax if he died (Burns, 2005). Houston was able to gain financial benefits from the oil company and these proceeds were used to pay for Dax’s medical and legal responsibilities.

The teleological theory can be used in order to justify Houston’s actions. Teleological is derived from the Greek word “telos” which means “ends” (Wittjen, 2003). This theory considers, more than anything else, the end goals of certain actions, or in some instances, the consequences of one’s actions. For Houston,