Human dignity and medical ethics
Authors:
Marta Munzarová
Published in:
Čas. Lék. čes. 2011; 150: 499-501
Category:
Special Articles
Overview
The concept of human dignity and the respect to it have issued from various sources - philosophical, religious and cultural. The text deals with the thinking of some philosophers (intrinsic dignity versus attributed dignity), with religious thoughts (explaining the dignity of man as being created in God’s image) and discusses the important declarations, especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration (UN, 1948) recognizes, in consent with both – the best philosophical tradition and biblical faith, the inherent dignity and worth of every human being (person); it is the first principle and the inescapable grounding for all human rights. The term human dignity is hotly debated in the present bioethics arena; nevertheless it is the source of considerable and dangerous confusion as well. Some bioethicists deny implicitly or even explicitly the dignity of every human being (they conflate intrinsic and attributed dignity), and others proclaim that dignity is a useless concept. But the respect to human dignity is the cornerstone of all medical ethics - this discipline will be changed into ethical parody without it. It is therefore necessary to see the problems in the broader context and to stand firmly on the right side of the dispute: on the side of each and every patient.
Key words:
human dignity, medical ethics, Universal declaration of human rights (UN 1948).
Sources
1. Council of Europe. The human rights, ethical and moral dimensions of health care. Strasbourg Cedex: Council of Europe Publishing 1998.
2. Sulmasy DP. The concept of human dignity. Zápis ze schůze PCBE, 2. února 2006. http://www.bioethics.gov/transcripts/ feb06/session2.html
3. Sulmasy DP. Dignity and bioethics: history, theory, and selected applications. http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/human_dignity/ chapter18.html
4. Cicero MT. O povinnostech. Praha: Melantrich 1940.
5. Lebech M. On the problem of human dignity. Bioethics outlook 2010; 21(4): 4.
6. Hobbes T. Leviathan. Praha: Melantrich 1941.
7. Kant I. Základy metafyziky mravů. Praha: Svoboda 1976.
8. Shell SM. Kant’s concept of human dignity as a resource for bioethics. http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/human_dignity/ chapter13.html
9. Honnefelder L. The concept of a person in moral philosophy. In: Bayertz K. (ed.) Sanctity of life and human dignity (Philosophy and Medicine, vol. 52). Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer Academic Publishers 1996; 139–160.
10. Slabý A, Slabý J. Spor o status lidské osoby v bioetice. Trendy v medicíně 2000; 2: 107–112.
11. Ratzinger J. Evropa Benedikta z Nursie v krizi kultur. Kostelní Vydří: Karmelitánské nakladatelství 2006.
12. Tao Lai Po Wah, J. Dignity in long-term care for older persons: A Confucian perspective. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 2007; 32: 465–481.
13. Špidlík T. Duchovní cvičení s Janem Pavlem II. Olomouc: Rerfugium Velehrad-Roma 2007: 22–23.
14. Munzarová M. Dignity, personhood and culture: reflections on bioethics of today. Medicina e Morale (Roma) 2010/4: 547–556.
15. Munzarová M. Towards the abolition of man: the voice of disabled persons cannot be ignored. Bulletin of Medical Ethics (London). January 2002, 13–21.
16. Daryl Charles J. Lebensunwertes Leben: The devolution of personhood in the Weimar and pre-Weimar era. Ethics & Medicine 2005; 21: 41–54.
17. Macklin R. Editorial. Dignity is a useless concept. It means no more than respect for persons or their autonomy. British Medical Journal 2003; 327: 1419–1420.
18. The President’s Council on Bioethics (PCBE), Washington, D.C. Human dignity and Bioethics: Essays commissioned by the President’s Council on Bioethics, March 2008.Celé dostupné na http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/human_dignity/index.html
19. Pellegrino ED. The lived experience of human dignity. http://www.bioethics.gov/reports/human_dignity/chapter20.html
20. Munzarová M. K postojům studentů k otázce lidské důstojnosti. Čas Lék čes 1995; 134: 488–490.
21. Kass LR. Life, liberty and the defense of dignity. The challenge for bioethics. San Francisco: Encounter books 2002.
22. Jordan MC. Bioethics and “human dignity”. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 2010; 35: 180–196.
23. Dodatkový protokol k Úmluvě na ochranu lidských práv a důstojnosti lidské bytosti v souvislosti s aplikací biologie a medicíny o zákazu klonování lidských bytostí, Rada Evropy, 1997 - Sbírka mezinárodních smluv ČR č. 97/2001.
24. Rapoport J. Dignity a useless concept?? bmj.com Rapid Responses for Macklin, 327 (7429) 1419–1420, 22 December 2003.
Labels
Addictology Allergology and clinical immunology Angiology Audiology Clinical biochemistry Dermatology & STDs Paediatric gastroenterology Paediatric surgery Paediatric cardiology Paediatric neurology Paediatric ENT Paediatric psychiatry Paediatric rheumatology Diabetology Pharmacy Vascular surgery Pain management Dental HygienistArticle was published in
Journal of Czech Physicians
Most read in this issue
- Human dignity and medical ethics
- Strategic dominance of the mucosal immune system in the defence and tolerance
- Problems with placement and using of automated external defibrillators in Czech Republic
- Perspectives of health care and system of health services