Ethical theories as multiple models

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debateResearchpeer-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 languageEnglish
Article number108501
JournalJournal of Medical Ethics
Volume49
Issue number6
Number of pages3
ISSN0306-6800
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

    Research areas

  • education, ethics, ethics- medical

ID: 342565196