Toward a methodology for moral decision making in medicine

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Moral Philosophy
• Medical Ethics

Background:

• Current medical codes offer insufficient guidance for complex physician moral dilemmas.
• Advancing medical technology exacerbates ethical challenges, necessitating improved analytical frameworks.
• Existing moral theories like deontology and teleology have limitations and are insufficient alone.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the inadequacy of current medical ethics guidance.
• To develop a novel method for moral decision-making in medicine.
• To propose a framework that overcomes the limitations of existing ethical theories.

Main Methods:

• Development of a moral decision-making method integrating coherence methodology.
• Incorporation of independently supported theoretical foundations.
• Introduction and description of the Wide Reflective Equilibrium (WRE) process.
• Outline of steps for applying the WRE method.
• Application of the WRE method to a case study.

Main Results:

• Wide Reflective Equilibrium (WRE) is proposed as a robust method for ethical decision-making.
• The WRE process integrates coherence and theoretical underpinnings.
• A theory of the person is presented to animate the WRE process.
• The outlined steps facilitate the practical application of WRE.

Conclusions:

• Wide Reflective Equilibrium offers a comprehensive approach to resolving complex medical ethical dilemmas.
• The proposed method provides a structured way to navigate moral challenges in advanced medical practice.
• Integrating coherence and theoretical foundations enhances ethical decision-making for physicians.