Ethics: The Heart of Health Care - a classic ethics text in medical, health and nursing studies - is recommended around the globe for its straightforward introduction to ethical analysis. In this new edition David Seedhouse demonstrates tangibly and graphically how ethics and health care are inextricably bound together, and creates a firm theoretical basis for practical decision-making. He not only clarifies ethics but, with the aid of the acclaimed Ethical Grid, teaches an essential practical skill which can (...) be productively applied in day-to-day health care. This edition, which is even more readable than the first, includes additional case studies and teaching exercises, contains new material on ethical theory and offers two further decision-making tools - The Rings of Uncertainty and the Autonomy Test. The engaging new introduction reveals the genesis of the Ethical Grid, illuminates the intent and argument of the first edition, and explains why the book is needed today as much as ever. Intended for all who work in health care or health studies - indeed for anyone with an interest in health issues - this is a highly original, innovative and accessible work on a subject traditionally regarded as lofty and obscure. It clarifies a wide variety of complex ethical issues and will give the reader fresh inspiration and renewed confidence in dealing with the demands of modern health work. (shrink)

It is difficult to understand the meaning of ‘dignity’ in human rights, bioethics and nursing literature because the word is used so vaguely. Unless dignity’s meaning is spelt out it can disappear beneath more tangible priorities. In this article we define dignity and show how this can help health workers to maintain the dignity of people in their care.

Many leading health economists hold misconceived ideas about central components of their work. In particular, they assume that their methods are in principle valueneutral. This belief is demonstrably false. Health economic investigations incorporate mainly unexpressed theories of health. Unless this fact is recognised health economics will shortly reach a conceptual and practical dead end. The way to avoid this dead end is to express implicit theories of health, and explicitly to base philosophically and economically justifiable policy proposals on them.

This paper is in three parts. In Part One we briefly explain that an unsophisticated form of utilitarianism—economic rationalism (ER)—has become dominant in many health systems. Its proponents argue that one of ER’s most important effects is to increase consumer choice. However, evidence from New Zealand does not support this claim. Furthermore, the logic of ER requires the construction of systems which tend to restrict individual participation.In Part Two we argue that although some have advocated an ‘ethic of care’ in (...) an attempt to counteract ER’s utilitarianism, two decades of campaigning have had little influence on health policy. ER’s pro-care adversaries have failed to make an impact because they have not developed a taxonomy of care—they have not established a language compatible with, or as powerful as, ER’s.In Part Three, in an attempt to raise the conceptual and practical status of caring in contemporary health systems, we distinguish four different forms of care. In opposition to those who believe the ‘ethic of care’ can adequately direct health care practice, we demonstrate that care is a secondary notion. We show that in order for a carer to decide which form of care to adopt in different situations she requires a more powerful idea. We contend further that health care ought to be governed by a theory of health, and suggest that ‘the foundations theory of health’ should be adopted by planners searching for a more humane alternative to ER. We conclude that ER’s dominance can and must be challenged. However, only those arguments which offer detailed theoretical analyses of health care, as well as meticulously derived practical policies, have any chance of success. (shrink)

Any attempt to describe a "best health service' must make political assumptions. For example, should it help everyone? Do different people have different entitlements to its support? Should its help be offered according to need, value for money or ability to benefit? These assumptions are not always clear to health service decision-makers immersed in clinical and economic technicalities, so HCA invited two philosophers --John Shand and David Seedhouse -- to engage in conversation about the political philosophy of health (...) care. (shrink)

Those who would enquire into therelationship between health conceptions and health care consequences are faced with a formidable task. In order to make this challenge manageable it is necessary to define the scope of the task as precisely as possible. Are we, for instance, faced with a purely theoretical challenge; a task for applied philosophy, or must we employ multi-disciplinary methods?This paper argues that while philosophy has a central clarifying role, inquiry into the relationship between health conceptions and health care (...) organisation can be done properly only through the combined efforts of several disciplines. Unless we are to be concerned only with abstract models it is essential to take account of the reality of health care situations. Given this it is suggested that the study of health conceptions is only a part of a greater task (unless all conceptions are to count as health conceptions). What is needed is understanding of the possible and actual purposes of health care, and detailed study of their practical implications. (shrink)

ConclusionA map of mental health is admittedly the vaguest of speculations at the moment. It is nowhere near as precise as anything presently seen through the mental health microscope. Indeed it may well turn out to offer nothing at all. On the other hand, the truth remains that unless we beat our addiction to microscopes we will never get even a glimpse of mental health: you can’t read a map with a microscope.

It is difficult to understand the meaning of ‘dignity’ in human rights, bioethics and nursing literature because the word is used so vaguely. Unless dignity’s meaning is spelt out it can disappear beneath more tangible priorities. In this article we define dignity and show how this can help health workers to maintain the dignity of people in their care.

A map of mental health is admittedly the vaguest of speculations at the moment. It is nowhere near as precise as anything presently seen through the mental health microscope. Indeed it may well turn out to offer nothing at all. On the other hand, the truth remains that unless we beat our addiction to microscopes we will never get even a glimpse of mental health: you can’t read a map with a microscope.

Declarations of the importance of dignity in health care are commonplace in codes of practice and other mission statements, yet these documents never clarify dignity’s meaning. Their vague aspirations are compared to comments from staff and patients about opportunities for and barriers against the promotion of dignity in elderly care institutions. These suggest that while nurses and health care assistants have an intuitive understanding of dignity, they either do not or cannot always bring it about in practice. Thus, despite stated (...) intentions to promote dignity, it appears that the circumstances of at least some elderly care institutions cause patients to experience avoidable indignities. Such institutions are “undignifying institutions” because they fail to acknowledge dignity’s basic components, focus excessively on quantifiable priorities, and have insufficient resources available to assure consistently dignifying care. As a partial solution, we argue that health workers should be taught to understand and specify the components of dignity, which will better prepare them to challenge undignifying practices and to recognise opportunities for dignity promotion. (shrink)

Part of the appeal of the biological approach to personal identity is that it does not have to countenance spatially coincident entities. But if the termination thesis is correct and the organism ceases to exist at death, then it appears that the corpse is a dead body that earlier was a living body and distinct from but spatially coincident with the organism. If the organism is identified with the body, then the unwelcome spatial coincidence could perhaps be avoided. It is (...) argued that such an identification would be a mistake. A living organism has a different part/whole relationship and persistence conditions than the alleged body. A case will be made that the concept ‘human body’ is a conceptual mess, vague in an unprincipled manner, and that an eliminativist stance towards dead bodies is the appropriate response. CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this? (shrink)

As a continuation of the work of the third author in [5], we make further observations on the features of Galois cohomology in the general model theoretic context. We make explicit the connection between forms of definable groups and first cohomology sets with coefficients in a suitable automorphism group. We then use a method of twisting cohomology (inspired by Serre’s algebraic twisting) to describe arbitrary fibres in cohomology sequences—yielding a useful “finiteness” result on cohomology sets. Applied to the special case (...) of differential fields and Kolchin’s constrained cohomology, we complete results from [3] by proving that the first constrained cohomology set of a differential algebraic group over a bounded, differentially large, field is countable. (shrink)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain (...) in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. (shrink)

In this classic work David Bohm, writing clearly and without technical jargon, develops a theory of quantum physics which treats the totality of existence as an unbroken whole.

Oxford Philosophical Texts Series Editor: John Cottingham The Oxford Philosophical Texts series consists of authoritative teaching editions of canonical texts in the history of philosophy from the ancient world down to modern times. Each volume provides a clear, well laid out text together with a comprehensive introduction by a leading specialist, giving the student detailed critical guidance on the intellectual context of the work and the structure and philosophical importance of the main arguments. Endnotes are supplied which provide further commentary (...) on the arguments and explain unfamiliar references and terminology, and a full bibliography and index are also included. The series aims to build up a definitive corpus of key texts in the Western philosophical tradition, which will form a reliable and enduring resource for students and teachers alike. David Hume's aim in writing An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding was to introduce his philosophy to a European culture in which many educated people read original works of philosophy. He gives an elegant and accessible presentation of strikingly original and challenging views about the limited powers of human understanding, the attractions of scepticism, the compatibility of free will and determinism, and weaknesses in the foundations of religion. Hume's philosophy was highly controversial in the eighteenth century and remains so today. The text printed in this edition is that of the Clarendon critical edition of Hume's works. A substantial introduction by the editor explains the intellectual background to the work and surveys its main themes. The volume also includes detailed explanatory notes on the text, a glossary of terms, a full list of references, and a section of supplementary readings. (shrink)

It is difficult to understand the meaning of 'dignity' in human rights, bioethics and nursing literature because the word is used so vaguely. Unless dignity's meaning is spelt out it can disappear beneath more tangible priorities. In this article we define dignity and show how this can help health workers to maintain the dignity of people in their care.

Religion, science, and naturalism -- Perception and religious experience -- Panexperientialism, freedom, and the mind-body relation -- Naturalistic, dipolar theism -- Natural theology based on naturalistic theism -- Evolution, evil, and eschatology -- The two ultimates and the religions -- Religion, morality, and civilization -- Religious language and truth -- Religious knowledge and common sense.