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Health as an objective value

J G Lennox1

  • 1Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
|October 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This study challenges the dichotomy in the philosophy of medicine regarding health, proposing a new understanding of health as a normative concept grounded in biological facts. This perspective is crucial for medical diagnosis and treatment.

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Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Medicine
  • Medical Ethics
  • Philosophy of Biology

Background:

  • The philosophy of medicine has been dominated by reductionist and relativist views on health.
  • These approaches assume health is either objective or evaluative, but not both.
  • This creates a dichotomy that limits the understanding of health's conceptual basis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To challenge the prevailing reductionist and relativist approaches to the concept of health.
  • To propose a new framework for understanding health as a normative concept.
  • To demonstrate the importance of this concept in medical diagnosis and treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical analysis of the concept of health.
  • Distinguishing between moral concepts and normative/evaluative concepts.

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  • Argumentation for a biologically grounded, evaluative understanding of health.

    • Main Results:

    • Identified a subset of value concepts derived from fundamental biological facts.
    • Proposed that health is a normative concept, not purely objective or purely subjective.
    • Health, understood normatively, is fundamental to medical diagnosis and treatment.

    Conclusions:

    • The traditional dichotomy in the philosophy of medicine regarding health is flawed.
    • Health is a normative concept, intrinsically linked to biological realities.
    • This reconceptualization of health has significant implications for medical practice.