Moral Theory and Medical Practice

One of the most prestigious contributors to the literature of medical philosophy is K. M. Fulford, a professor at Oxford University. His book, titled Moral Theory and Medical Practice, has little to do with moral theory and even less with medical practice. Acknowledging that his aim is to give different meanings to the terms disease and illness, Fulford maintains that mental illnesses are the same kinds of diseases as bodily illnesses and defends traditional psychiatric principles and practices. He proposes the following definition of disease First, the idea that illness is a value term will be adopted as an assumption next, a hypothesis about disease will be derived from this assumption. Neither the pathologist in the laboratory, nor the clinician at the bedside, nor the suffering patient views disease as a hypothesis derivedfrom an assumption. The utility of Fulford s interpretation clearly lies elsewhere. 

K. W. M. Fulford, Moral Theory and Medical Practice, p. 28, emphasis added. 

Ethics is the study of right and wrong in relation to human actions. It includes metaethics, that is, study of the general principles from which ethical systems can be built moral theory, that is, the ethical systems themselves, consisting of the criteria and procedures that can be applied to decide whether individual actions are right or wrong and practical ethics or applied ethics, that is, the application of ethical systems to the analysis of particular situations, including such specialized areas as business ethics and medical ethics. 

Principlism and the four principles with scope approach to medical ethics is one of the most useful, practical tools to aid decision making in ethical dilemmas within medicine and health care. One significant advantage of this system is its supposed universality. In theory, it is independent of personal philosophy, political beliefs, religion, morality, or life stance. As the principles reflect universally valid norms, they allow intercultural and cross-cultural judgments to be made. 

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