Related Experiment Videos
The forms and limits of medical ethics
1Westminster Institute for Ethics and Human Values, London, Ontario, Canada.
Social Science & Medicine (1982)
|November 1, 1994
Summary
Medical ethics faces challenges applying philosophical theories to healthcare. New approaches like casuistry, narrative, and contextualism offer practical insights, moving beyond pure theory.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Applied Ethics
- Bioethics
Background:
- Medical ethics traditionally applies philosophical theories to healthcare dilemmas.
- Challenges exist in applying abstract theories to concrete medical situations.
- This has led to critiques of applied ethics' practical utility.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the evolution of medical ethics beyond theoretical application.
- To examine alternative approaches to moral problem-solving in healthcare.
- To highlight the promise of diverse methodologies in understanding practical morality.
Main Methods:
- Review of philosophical and ethical literature.
- Analysis of emerging trends in medical ethics.
- Examination of critiques from social sciences and feminist perspectives.
Main Results:
- Applied ethics struggles with the indeterminacy of philosophical theories.
- Moral casuistry and narrative ethics emerged as alternatives, focusing on cases and stories.
- Contextualism emphasizes institutional, social, and cultural factors in medical ethics.
Conclusions:
- Contemporary medical ethics is moving towards more practical, context-sensitive approaches.
- Diverse methodologies, including casuistry, narrative, and contextualism, enhance understanding of moral issues in healthcare.
- These approaches promise to improve the practical application of ethics in medicine.