The role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine

Abstract Background The edge metaphor is ubiquitous in describing the present situation in the world, and nowhere is this as clearly visible as in medicine. “The edge of medicine” has become the title of books, scholarly articles, media headlines, and lecture series and seems to be imbued with hype,...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal:	Bjørn Hofmann
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Edge Metaphor Role Ethics Philosophy Challenges Medical philosophy. Medical ethics R723-726
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1b56b1e24fa34b4e8635cd1cb57a1c8f
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:1b56b1e24fa34b4e8635cd1cb57a1c8f
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1b56b1e24fa34b4e8635cd1cb57a1c8f2021-11-08T10:57:40ZThe role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine10.1186/s13010-021-00114-w1747-5341https://doaj.org/article/1b56b1e24fa34b4e8635cd1cb57a1c8f2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s13010-021-00114-whttps://doaj.org/toc/1747-5341Abstract Background The edge metaphor is ubiquitous in describing the present situation in the world, and nowhere is this as clearly visible as in medicine. “The edge of medicine” has become the title of books, scholarly articles, media headlines, and lecture series and seems to be imbued with hype, hope, and aversion. In order better to understand what is at stake at “the edge of medicine” this article addresses three questions: What does “the edge of medicine” mean in contemporary debates on modern medicine? What are the challenges “on the edge of medicine” (in these various meanings of “on the edge”)? How can philosophy and ethics contribute with addressing these challenges? Methods Literature searches in PubMed and Google Scholar are used to identify uses of the phrase “the edge of medicine” while conventional content analysis is used to analyze meanings of and challenges with “the edge of medicine.” These results are then investigated with respect to how philosophy and ethics can address the identified challenges. Results The literature reveals that “the edge of medicine” has many meanings, such as: Border; Margin (of life); Frontier; Forefront; Fringes; Plunge (abyss); Brink (verge); Conflict; and Balancing. In general, the various meanings address four basic challenges: setting limits, keeping control, make meaning, and handling conflicts or aporias. The analysis of each of the meanings of “the edge of medicine” identifies a wide range of important and urgent tasks for the humanities in general, and for philosophy and ethics in particular: 1) clarifying concepts; 2) clarifying assumptions and premises of arguments, methods, advice, and decisions; 3) elaborate new concepts and new theories; 4) conceptualize and handle uncertainty, moral regret, and residue; 5) reveal “the emperor’s new clothes;” 6) identify trends and reflect on their implications; 7) demarcation; and 8) reflecting on goodness in medicine. Conclusion The phrase “the edge of medicine” expresses a wide range of challenges for modern health care. Together with other disciplines philosophy and ethics can and should make crucial contributions at “the edge of medicine,” which is where the future of human beings and societies is created and formed.Bjørn HofmannBMCarticleEdgeMetaphorRoleEthicsPhilosophyChallengesMedical philosophy. Medical ethicsR723-726ENPhilosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, Vol 16, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Edge Metaphor Role Ethics Philosophy Challenges Medical philosophy. Medical ethics R723-726
spellingShingle	Edge Metaphor Role Ethics Philosophy Challenges Medical philosophy. Medical ethics R723-726 Bjørn Hofmann The role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine
description	Abstract Background The edge metaphor is ubiquitous in describing the present situation in the world, and nowhere is this as clearly visible as in medicine. “The edge of medicine” has become the title of books, scholarly articles, media headlines, and lecture series and seems to be imbued with hype, hope, and aversion. In order better to understand what is at stake at “the edge of medicine” this article addresses three questions: What does “the edge of medicine” mean in contemporary debates on modern medicine? What are the challenges “on the edge of medicine” (in these various meanings of “on the edge”)? How can philosophy and ethics contribute with addressing these challenges? Methods Literature searches in PubMed and Google Scholar are used to identify uses of the phrase “the edge of medicine” while conventional content analysis is used to analyze meanings of and challenges with “the edge of medicine.” These results are then investigated with respect to how philosophy and ethics can address the identified challenges. Results The literature reveals that “the edge of medicine” has many meanings, such as: Border; Margin (of life); Frontier; Forefront; Fringes; Plunge (abyss); Brink (verge); Conflict; and Balancing. In general, the various meanings address four basic challenges: setting limits, keeping control, make meaning, and handling conflicts or aporias. The analysis of each of the meanings of “the edge of medicine” identifies a wide range of important and urgent tasks for the humanities in general, and for philosophy and ethics in particular: 1) clarifying concepts; 2) clarifying assumptions and premises of arguments, methods, advice, and decisions; 3) elaborate new concepts and new theories; 4) conceptualize and handle uncertainty, moral regret, and residue; 5) reveal “the emperor’s new clothes;” 6) identify trends and reflect on their implications; 7) demarcation; and 8) reflecting on goodness in medicine. Conclusion The phrase “the edge of medicine” expresses a wide range of challenges for modern health care. Together with other disciplines philosophy and ethics can and should make crucial contributions at “the edge of medicine,” which is where the future of human beings and societies is created and formed.
format	article
author	Bjørn Hofmann
author_facet	Bjørn Hofmann
author_sort	Bjørn Hofmann
title	The role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine
title_short	The role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine
title_full	The role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine
title_fullStr	The role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine
title_full_unstemmed	The role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine
title_sort	role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1b56b1e24fa34b4e8635cd1cb57a1c8f
work_keys_str_mv	AT bjørnhofmann theroleofphilosophyandethicsattheedgesofmedicine AT bjørnhofmann roleofphilosophyandethicsattheedgesofmedicine
_version_	1718442403455565824

The role of philosophy and ethics at the edges of medicine

Ejemplares similares