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Another Defense of Common Morality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2022

Ruth Macklin
Ruth Macklin*
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology & Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA
*
Corresponding author: Email. ruth.macklin@einsteinmed.org
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Abstract

Robert Baker and Rosamond Rhodes each argue against the universality “common morality,” the approach to ethics that comprises four fundamental principles and their application in various settings. Baker contends that common morality cannot account for cultural diversity in the world and claims that a human rights approach is superior in the context of global health. Rhodes maintains that bioethics is not reducible to common morality because medical professionals have special privileges and responsibilities that people lack in everyday life. Baker fails to demonstrate how the human rights approach to global ethics is more sensitive to culture than the use of bioethics principles that comprise common morality. Rhodes has a narrow interpretation of “common morality,” which when understood more broadly, accounts for the special privileges and obligation of medical professionals.

Keywords

common moralityhuman rightsglobal ethicsmedical professionals
Type
Articles
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , April 2022 , pp. 177 - 184
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

Notes

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