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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.

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