A Discussion on Moral Issues of Cosmetic Surgery

A Discussion on Moral Issues of Cosmetic Surgery Cosmetic Surgery Cosmetic surgery is a surgical procedure that is done on body parts that are healthy, and has the purpose of improving appearance. Cosmetic surgery has become more common over the years, especially in the United States. However, many are bringing to attention ethical problems related to the increasing percentage of people who have undergone this procedure. While some critics make a few good points about moral issues of cosmetic surgery, many who bring up the ethical issues of the procedure do not make strong enough arguments. Just like any other surgery, cosmetic surgery is a procedure that comes with many risks, but it is still an important one that should continue to be taught to and performed by physicians. Stephen Coleman writes a great defensive argument for cosmetic surgery in his â€Å"A Defense of Cosmetic Surgery†, which specifically excludes reconstructive surgery. Coleman makes an accurate point by stating that cosmetic surgery can be morally justifiable for actors and actresses because the want for these surgeries are based off of their desire to sustain their jobs. (176) People on television are often critiqued on their physical appearance, and this can skew the hiring process for actresses and actors to role in movies and television shows. This especially affects women in the Hollywood industry. Women are strongly pressured to have certain physical features, and to display those features while playing their roles for media. This leads many actresses, female singers, and female models to undergo breast augmentation, breast reduction, abdominoplasty, and many other cosmetic surgeries to look appealing for the general audience and for directors to hire them for media role s. Even though it is sexist and unfair to hire women solely based on their looks, it is the reality of the world we live in today and many women in the media industry are forced to look a certain way to keep their jobs. This suggestion that is reasonable for women in Hollywood to undergo cosmetic surgery can be further expanded to any person looking for a job, seeking a job, or looking to get a better job. Several studies have come to the conclusion that attractive people are more likely to be get call backs for job interviews, get promoted, and get paid more compared to unattractive people. While attractiveness can be seen as subjective, there are certain beauty standards that people are held to such as facial symmetry, a youthful appearance, and large sexual body parts. Since having certain physical features would make a person more successful in terms of careers, it would be ethical for a person to seek to attain those features. However, not every person who wants cosmetic surgery is doing so to have a successful career. As Coleman states in his argument, many of the first plastic surgeons performed plastic surgeries to alleviate problems that other people had on a person’s appearance. He gives a great example saying that many Jewish, Black, and Asian people underwent the surgery to avoid prejudice. These minorities had cosmetic surgery done in order to fight against stereotypes and to conform to the standards of beauty at that time. (Coleman 177). However, Coleman is not seeking to defend these types of surgeries. I disagree with Coleman when he states that surgeries of these circumstances do not fit his definition of cosmetic surgery. Coleman states that surgeries that are performed to relieve serve psychological stress, decrease functional disturbances, and increase physical appearance outside a normal variation should really be considered reconstructive surgery. (173) I argue that surgeries performed to have a more successful career and to decrease stereotypical features of a certain race are definitely cosmetic. They are not medically necessary and some are only performed to fit within Caucasian physical appearance norms, which should not be the standard of attractiveness. Despite my disagreement with Coleman on these issues, I agree with his main argument, which brings the topic of autonomy into the picture. Coleman argues that since autonomy is a basic human right, then people should be allowed to get surgery solely for the purpose of increasing their physical appearance. It would be unethical to shame people into not getting cosmetic surgery or to ban cosmetic surgery. This would be a violation of patient autonomy. Even though there may be risks associated with cosmetic surgeries, just like any other surgery, it does not cause any direct harm. Therefore it could also be argued that beneficence is also a factor that could come to play, because cosmetic surgery increases physical appearance and does not inflict intentional harm. (Coleman 178-180). While Coleman makes the argument that cosmetic surgery is ethical because it respects patient autonomy, Franklin Miller suggests patient sovereignty is a topic that should as be discussed in regards to cosmetic surgery. Miller argues that some physicians and medical companies promote cosmetic surgeries by planting subliminal messages in advertisements for men and women by suggesting that they would look better if they undergo cosmetic surgery. He argues that the field of cosmetic surgery is more business than it is medical. While Miller does raise good points, I believe that these advertisements do not increase the likelihood of people undergoing cosmetic surgeries. Miller suggests that physicians are planting the idea in people’s minds that their bodies should be modified. (Miller 355) However, people are fed these ideas everyday. From actresses to models, people are constantly shown what makes someone physically attractive. People always look up to those in the media, and wa nt to look like those actresses and models. Therefore it would not be accurate in suggesting that physicians are the ones planting these new ideas that our bodies are not perfect. Many physicians are capitalizing on Hollywood’s portrayal of perfect looking people, but it is not an idea that they made themselves. I also argue that not all cosmetic surgeons are doing their jobs simply for the money. Many physicians perform cosmetic surgeries because they actually care about the well being of people and want to help patients in whatever way they can. If a patient would feel better in undergoing cosmetic surgery, then it would be ethical for a doctor to perform the surgery. Also, if one were not thinking about getting cosmetic surgery, advertisements would not suddenly make them believe that they would need the surgery. Advertisements for cosmetic surgeries simply make it more accessible for those seeking to get the surgery. Overall cosmetic surgery should not be an ethical problem. The two main ethical theories that are upheld through cosmetic surgery are nonmaleficence and autonomy. Physicians are doing no harm to the patients that they perform the surgery on, and performing the surgery would be respecting patients’ autonomy for those who want to enhance their physical appearance. Cosmetic surgeries are also beneficial because they can increase one’s self-esteem, increase likelihood of a successful career, and can help people avoid discrimination due to physical features, thereby avoiding psychological harm. In conclusion, cosmetic surgery is a procedure that should be treated like any other surgery, as it causes no direct or intentional harm, and can increase the overall mental health of a patient.

Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Hamlet - Essay Example Readers will see imperfections of his character in all his careful actions and manipulation of events and people in order to avenge the death of his father and reclaim his honor. His actions, one of them feigning lunacy, as Shakespeare has shown, when Hamlet said to Horatio, â€Å"Here, as before, never, so help you mercy, How strange or odd soeer I bear myself (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet To put an antic disposition on) (1.5.925) was done in order to distract and confuse Claudius and his men. This proved to be both of an advantage and a flaw. His antics bought Hamlet time to think about what to do in order to manipulate Claudius into confessing, directly or indirectly his hand in Hamlet’s father’s death but the reactions of people made him over think about his plans of revenge. His ability to over think, which was shown in Hamlet’s soliloquy (3.1.1,750) and inability to act on things result his will being crippled, sinking to inaction while Claudius reigns secure (John Russel, 13) and also resulted to his own confusion. His being indecisive and his inability to act on his desires, or even the suspension of his planned action proved to be one of his character flaws. â€Å"Now might I do it pat, now he is praying; And now Ill dot. And so he goes to heaven; And so am I revenged. That would be scannd: A villain kills my father; and for that, I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven† (3.3.2356-2360). This was his chance to avenge his father’s death but he had second thoughts about it. He was so affected by melancholy which resulted to low self-esteem and doubt in himself that either made him suicidal as Hamlet said "O that this too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon against self-slaughter" (1.2.333-336) or so enraged to resort to murder. "How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead†¦ A bloody deed - almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king and

Utopia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Utopia - Essay Example On the contrary, I think its' very far from being Utopia. But what is Utopia I would think that it is a world where there is peace and love among all men. But according to Plato's The Republic, he considered a perfect state to have two things: the perfect man and the perfect justice. A perfect world cannot exist if the people that consists it are flawed. I must agree albeit hesitantly, because come to think of it, the world is nothing but the sum of the people which consist it. Hence, to make a perfect world, the men that form it must be perfect as well. Although we have come a long way since our barbarian ancestors, we are not perfect still. According to Charles Darwin, men may have noble qualities and god-like intelligence and yet "men still bears in his bodily frame the inedible stamp of his lowly origin." Since it is our body that limits us and prevents us from being perfect, Plato has suggested in The Republic that in the modern world, sickly and deformed children are segregated and put to death so they don't contaminate nor burden the rest. They are flawed, and there is no room for flaws in a perfect world. Plato suggested that in a perfect world, there is unity among men and they are one with the state. Men cease to be mere individuals and instead they are seen as members of the state. I agree with this line of thinking because if men today would think this way, they would hesitate before doing harm to another, because if they injure another, they injure the State. And in a way, they injure themselves. However, to attain this oneness with the State, Plato suggests communal property under the control of the state. Likewise, it suggests that the State rears the children without parents knowing their offspring. All of these are aimed to prevent accumulation of wealth, brains, beauty and other qualities of birth. Again, I must agree to this line of thinking. Because to have a complete unity with the State, one must surrender everything to it, otherwise, wealth will be concentrated only to certain individuals, beauty and brains would only be limited to only one family. This is what is happening now. And as we see, it leads to inequality and injustice. Can We Attain Utopia In my opinion, it will be nearly impossible to attain Utopia. First of all, we are flawed men. And as things are going with respect to human rights advocacy, I don't think it is possible to segregate the deformed and sickly and put them to death. Such would be contrary to all tenets of human rights. Likewise, while it's more possible to have community of property as such exists in certain communist nations today. I don't think it is possible for the State to rear children. No parent would agree to give up their child. All of us are brought up in a family environment and we are taught how important family ties are. In the work of Rene Descartes, he concluded that a piece made by one person out of scratch is more perfect than a piece that evolved from different pieces merged together. We are the latter. The human race evolved and our society is what it is now based on various experiences. Thus, it is less perfect. To attain perfection, we must start over. Destroy what we have now and build it