Metaphysics and medical ethics.

Metaphysics and medical ethics.

I take issue with Frank Leavitt's sketch of a pragmatic criterion for the relevance of metaphysics to medical ethics. I argue that appeal to the potential for confusion generated by metaphysical subtlety establishes a need for better communication rather than shows philosophical insight beside the point. I demonstrate that the proposed Criterion of Relevance has absurd consequences, and I claim...

Metaphysics and medical ethics: a reply.

The total longitudinal form view of human beings is a metaphysical view which aims to locate our moral judgements about human embryos in a broader set of attitudes and characterisations. On this basis it has explanatory power and a real function in that it grounds our ethical discussion of embryos in other discourses. Contra Leavitt, this grounding suggests a broader criterion of relevance for ...

Nursing ethics and medical ethics.

From Classical Metaphysics to Medical Informatics

An item in the Wall Street Journal of 13.11.2001 describes how computers might be used as a means of alerting health officials to problems caused by bioterror-ism. The author notes that biological attacks will likely be marked by statistical spikes in the purchase of over-the-counter remedies for specific common ailments , and the data pertaining to such purchases can be made available immediat...

Confidentiality and the ethics of medical ethics.

In this paper we consider the use of cases in medical ethics research and teaching. To date, there has been little discussion about the consent or confidentiality requirements that ought to govern the use of cases in these areas. This is in marked contrast to the requirements for consent to publish cases in clinical journals, or to use personal information in research. There are a number of rea...