Words
When explaining the inadequacy of the words “Cheer him up” to describe the purpose of offering a drink to a murderer, TS Elliot’s Sweeney remarks,Well here again that don’t applyBut I’ve gotta use words when I talk to you.1 The importance of words (or concepts) to medical ethics cannot be denied. Wh...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
BMJ Publ.
2021
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| In: |
Journal of medical ethics
Year: 2021, Volume: 47, Issue: 9, Pages: 589 |
| Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | When explaining the inadequacy of the words “Cheer him up” to describe the purpose of offering a drink to a murderer, TS Elliot’s Sweeney remarks,Well here again that don’t applyBut I’ve gotta use words when I talk to you.1 The importance of words (or concepts) to medical ethics cannot be denied. While a narrow view of conceptual analysis is not conducive to good medical ethics,2 the adequacy and clarity of the words we use continues to be the foundation for all ethical analysis. While some key ideas such as ‘paternalism’3 or ‘coercion’4 are well theorised and tend to be used in a consistent way that most understand, other words that are important to ethics, often are not.Our ability to notice, perceive and understand ethical issues is the starting point for all ethical inquiry. The ethical words we choose structure and give content to our ethical perception. As Kant observed, ‘Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are … |
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| ISSN: | 1473-4257 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of medical ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2021-107787 |