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An Eliminativist Approach to Vulnerability.

Anthony Wrigley

|November 27, 2014

Summary

The concept of vulnerability in bioethics faces significant problems, questioning its necessity. While an eliminativist stance is argued, the term can be pragmatically retained as a linguistic device highlighting ethical issues.

Area of Science:

Bioethics
Philosophy of Science

Background:

The concept of vulnerability is interpreted in various ways, but existing accounts suffer from significant problems.
These issues include contentious application and a lack of genuine explanatory power, hindering a satisfactory definition.

Purpose of the Study:

To critically analyze the concept of vulnerability in bioethical contexts.
To explore the implications of persistent conceptual problems for the utility of the concept.
To propose an eliminativist position while offering a pragmatic alternative for its continued use.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of existing theories of vulnerability.
Examination of the explanatory role of vulnerability in bioethics.
Argumentation for an eliminativist approach and a pragmatic reinterpretation.

Keywords:

conceptual analysis eliminativism harm vulnerability

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Main Results:

Existing accounts of vulnerability are inadequate and lack genuine explanatory power.
A satisfactory definition of vulnerability that plays a key explanatory role in bioethics is unlikely.
An eliminativist position regarding vulnerability is supported by these concerns.

Conclusions:

The concept of vulnerability should be eliminated due to its persistent inadequacy.
The term 'vulnerability' can be pragmatically retained as a linguistic device to draw attention to issues governed by other ethical concepts.
This pragmatic use does not rely on a robust conceptual analysis of vulnerability itself.