The Moral Sense and Health Care

Abstract

Medical ethics has become a major concern of philosophical ethicists, theorists and practitioners in the health sciences, and the general public. Spectacular cases such as Baby Fay, Karen Ann Quinlan, and Barney Clark have drawn much attention to moral problems in medical practice. Generally, attention has been focused on those cases which appear to result from recent advances in medical science and technology. To these problems ethicists have brought their expertise in moral analysis, making moral judgments, and applying traditional ethical norms to moral problems. A new area of ethical study has arisen — biomedical ethics. But this welcomed interest in medical ethics often rests on three questionable assumptions. (1) The practice of medicine itself is an adjunct to science and technology. (2) Ethical issues arise from the advances in medical science and technology. (3) These ethical problems are best resolved by applying the expertise of traditional philosophical ethics to these problems.