On the philosophical foundations of medical ethics: Aristotle, Kant, JS Mill and Rawls

Cohen-Almagor, R.

Abstract

This article aims to trace back some of the theoretical foundations of medical ethics that stem from the philosophies of Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, John Stuart Mill and John Rawls. The four philosophers had in mind rational and autonomous human beings who are able to decide their destiny, who pave for themselves the path for their own happiness. It is argued that their philosophies have influenced the field of medical ethics as they crafted some very important principles of the field. I discuss the concept of autonomy according to Kant and JS Mill, Kant's concepts of dignity, benevolence and beneficence, Mill's Harm Principle (nonmaleficence), the concept of justice according to Aristotle, Mill and Rawls, and Aristotle's concept of responsibility.

Citation

Cohen-Almagor, R. (2017). On the philosophical foundations of medical ethics: Aristotle, Kant, JS Mill and Rawls. Ethics, Medicine and Public Health, 3(4), 436-444. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2017.09.009

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 19, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Nov 22, 2017
• Publication Date: 2017-11
• Deposit Date: Feb 16, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 23, 2018
• Journal: Ethics, Medicine and Public Health
• Print ISSN: 2352-5525
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 3
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 436-444
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemep.2017.09.009
• Keywords: Aristotle; Autonomy; Beneficence; Benevolence; Dignity; Immanuel Kant; John Rawls; John Stuart Mill; Justice; Nonmaleficence; Responsibility
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/475566
• Contract Date: Feb 17, 2018