Repository | Book | Chapter
(1997) The influence of Edmund d. Pellegrino's philosophy of medicine, Dordrecht, Springer.
Antifoundationalism and the possibility of a moral philosophy of medicine
David C. Thomasma
pp. 127-143
The problem of developing a moral philosophy of medicine is explored in this essay. Among the challenges posed to this development are the general mistrust of moral philosophy and philosophy in general created by post-modernist philosophical and even anti-philosophical thinking. This reaction to philosophical systematization is usually called antifoundationalism. I distinguish different forms of antifoundationalism, showing that not all forms of their opposites, foundationalism, are alike, especially with regards to claims made about the certitude of moral thought. I conclude that we are correct to mistrust absolutist principles in a moral philosophy of medicine, but can find some center within the practice of medicine itself for a moral foundation.
Publication details
DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-3364-9_10
Full citation:
Thomasma, D. C. (1997)., Antifoundationalism and the possibility of a moral philosophy of medicine, in D. C. Thomasma (ed.), The influence of Edmund d. Pellegrino's philosophy of medicine, Dordrecht, Springer, pp. 127-143.