Pellegrino Moral Agency Case

Moral agency is the ability to make a moral judgement on the basis of the common perception of good and wrong in the society and have accountability for these actions. A moral agent is the person who takes this responsibility. Since time immemorial, there have been two forces in the world: good and evil that are determined by a man’s virtue or moral character. To possess a virtue is to be a certain type of person with a particular mind set.

Case study analysis Harry, an 80-year old war veteran living in a small townhouse suffered a stroke that paralysed his whole body and was rushed to hospital where he was put under Intensive Care to support his life. He was in a coma and had to rely on life support, to keep his organs functional. For nearly

This situation can be understood when analysed according to Pellegrino’s four-part matrix. Pellegrino (271) explains the moral event regarding accountability and justification require a unified assessment of four elements. They are the agent, act, circumstance and consequences in relation to each other. The agents involved are the physicians and Harry’s daughter. It is a fact, that when treating a patient in a poor physical state, the next of kin must be made aware of the necessary circumstances. It could be devastating if the next of kin later finds out that there was nothing to be done on their sick patients and even the physicians had already given up. On the second issue of the act as identified by Pellegrino (271), the doctors felt the need to inform the daughter. This decision was not only the logical thing to do, but also it served as the best for the benefit of all the parties involved in the situation. According to the physicians, this would lead to better and informed decision concerning the father’s state of health. In terms of overall ethics of the social contract theory as well as the circumstance, Harry’s daughter could have felt that the hospital was not doing things right. As a consequence, the physicians considered the fact that as Harry’s conditions got worse with time, it would be wise in letting the daughter understand the state. All the steps as highlighted by Pellegrino (271) have been followed to prevent a consequence that would have been hard to deal with. Despite the daughter disagreeing with the doctors thus the arising conflict, dreadful circumstances have been avoided. We are however at crossroads with both parties being right in their own views and believing they are giving the better