The enigma of health: cultural, health political, and philosophical aspects

Dowie, A. (2021) The enigma of health: cultural, health political, and philosophical aspects. Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, 51(1), pp. 37-42. (doi: 10.4997/JRCPE.2021.109) (PMID:33877132)

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Publisher's URL: https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/college/journal/enigma-health-cultural-health-political-and-philosophical-aspects

Abstract

Ethics, at its core, relates to our practices and their moral justification. The practice of medicine, by definition, takes place in a fundamentally ethical context. In ordinary circumstances the goals to which physicians direct their medical practices are held tacitly, but sometimes fresh examination of these is occasioned. This conceptual article considers a range of approaches that have been taken to the notion of health, ancient and modern, historical and contemporary, beginning with the socio-cultural, then the health political, and finally the medical philosophical. Although these are contrasting perspectives, each are bound up with questions of values and of the relation between the objective and subjective. The contrast is discussed between the idea of health as a positive and dynamic condition in terms of functional ability, and characterisations of health as purely the absence of disease. Finally, a typology of theories of health is proposed along ontological and epistemological lines.

Item Type:Articles
Keywords:Culture, ethics, health, philosophy of health, values.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Dowie, Professor Al
Authors: Dowie, A.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
Journal Name:Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
Publisher:Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
ISSN:1478-2715
ISSN (Online):2042-8189
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
First Published:First published in 51(1): 37-42
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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