Medical ethics today: its practice and philosophy

Philosophy and teaching medical ethics.

Not unpredictably, Raanon Gillon's reactions to Teaching medical ethics: The cognitive-developmental view' included both. While these general concerns have been addressed in other contexts2-7, a brief specific response to Gillon's comments is appropriate for the readers of this Journal. Gillon's philosophical concerns appear to be that the cognitive-developmental approach to moral education is ...

Imagination, literature, medical ethics and medical practice.

Without imagination-without an actively cultivated imagination-not only do health care workers themselves suffer, but so too do their patients, argues Dr Anne Scott in this issue of the journal.' 2 Why? Because only by being able to imagine what it is like to be the other person, the patient, only by being able to enter imaginatively into the world of the patient, is the health care professiona...

Why philosophy is important to medical ethics.

Derek Parfit in his landmark Reasons and Persons asks us to imagine the following hypothetical case. You must have a very painful operation for which there is no anaesthesia. You will experience excruciating pain for several hours. But then you will be given a drug to induce amnesia. You will not remember any of the pain. You wake up in bed in hospital. Doctors come and say there has been a mis...

Buddhism and Medical Ethics: Principles and Practice

Medical ethics and Islam: principles and practice.

A minimum level of cultural awareness is a necessary prerequisite for the delivery of care that is culturally sensitive. In this paper we simplify and highlight certain key teachings in Islamic medical ethics and explore their applications. We hope that the insights gained will aid clinicians to better understand their Muslim patients and deliver care that pays due respect to their beliefs.