Ethical theories as multiple models
Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › Research › peer-review
Hardman and Hutchinson claim that ethics is 'grounded in particular, everyday concerns'. According to them, an implication of this is that ethics courses for (future) clinicians should de-emphasise teaching the theories and principles of philosophical ethics and focus instead on pedagogical activities more closely related to everyday concerns, for example, exposure to real patient accounts. I respond that, even if ethics is an 'everyday' phenomenon, learning philosophical ethics may be of significant practical benefit to clinicians. I argue that the theories of philosophical ethics can reasonably be interpreted as partial, simplified descriptions - or models - of moral phenomena, and that they can be effectively deployed in tandem by clinicians as complementary decision-making tools for help in navigating ethically complex situations in the clinic.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Article number | 108501 |
Journal | Journal of Medical Ethics |
Volume | 49 |
Issue number | 6 |
Number of pages | 3 |
ISSN | 0306-6800 |
DOIs |
|
Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
- education, ethics, ethics- medical
Research areas
ID: 342565196