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Public health ethics: a flawed view of Kant's argument from autonomy
1Department of Theology, Heythrop College, University of London, 17 Arthurdon Road, Brockley, London SE4 1JT.
Background:
This work explores the concept of morality as self-governing autonomy that has its origins in Immanuel Kant's ethics. It investigates how a mistaken view of Kant's ethics underpins a strand of debate in public health policy that is used to justify individual responsibility for health and well-being.
Method:
Literature review.
Results:
Applying a mistaken view of Kant's ethics to current day public health problems is inappropriate. The work discusses the social determinants of health and the call by some in the field to adopt a Kantian approach to tackle the problems of poor health resulting from lifestyle choices.
Conclusion:
The paper ends by arguing for a public health policy that is grounded in collaboration and for the adoption of Health in All Policies (HiAP).
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