Abstract
Bioethics is often presented as a pragmatic enterprise. A characteristic of bioethics named by virtually all authors writing about pragmatism and bioethics, including Schermer and Keulartz, is its practical orientation (Wolf, 1994; Fins et al., 1999; McGee, 1999; Moreno, 1999). One may however raise doubts about the pragmatic nature of bioethics. Bioethics has started as a critique of medical technology, emphasizing the need of setting limits to the application of technology in order to do justice to the patient’s perspective. In order to promote the patient’s perspective, bioethics has developed a specific concept of patient autonomy. The patient is seen as an individual who makes conscious decisions on the basis of given values, rather than as a part of a social network aimed at addressing practical problems. This view of decision-making in medical practice is not very pragmatic. A practical turn in ethics does not suffice to say that bioethics is pragmatic, nor does it by itself result in the development of ethical concepts that would do justice to the practical nature of moral life.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Emanuel, E.J. and L.L. Emanuel (1992). “Four models of the physician patient relationship”, in:JAMA267: 2221–2226.
Huijer, M. and G. Widdershoven (2001). “Desires in palliative medicine. Five models of the physician-patient interactions of palliative treatments related to Hellenistic therapies of desire”, in:Ethical Theory and Moral Practice4: 143–159.
Ignatieff, M. (1994).The needs of strangers.London: Vintage
Fins, J.J. et al. (1999). “Clinical pragmatism: A method of moral problem solving”, in: G. McGee (ed.)Pragmatic Bioethics.Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, p. 30–44.
Mackenzie, C. and N. Stoljar (2000).Relational autonomy.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
McGee, G. (1999). “Pragmatic method and bioethics”, in: G. McGee (ed.)Pragmatic bioethics.Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, p. 18–29.
Moreno, J.D. (1999). “Bioethics is a naturalism”, in: G. McGee (ed.)Pragmatic bioethics.Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, p. 5–17.
Tronto, J.C. (1993).Moral boundaries. A political argument for an ethic of care.New York/London: Routledge.
Walker, M.U. (1998).Moral understandings.London: Routledge.
Wolf, S.M. (1994). “Shifting paradigms in bioethics and health law: The rise of a new pragmatism”, in:American Journal of Law & Medicine20: 395–415.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Widdershoven, G., Van Der Scheer, L. (2002). Healthcare as a Relational Practice: A Hermeneutic-Pragmatic Perspective. In: Keulartz, J., Korthals, M., Schermer, M., Swierstra, T. (eds) Pragmatist Ethics for a Technological Culture. The International Library of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Ethics, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0301-8_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0301-8_5
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-1115-3
Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0301-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive