Aristotle and Principlism in Bioethics

Main Article Content

Joseph Cimakasky
Ronald Polansky

Abstract

Principlism, a most prominent approach in bioethics, has been criticized for lacking an underlying moral theory.  We propose that the four principles of principlism can be related to the four traditional cardinal virtues.  These virtues appear prominently in Plato's Republic and in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics.  We show how this connection can be made.  In this way principlism has its own compelling ethical basis.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Cimakasky, Joseph, and Ronald Polansky. 2015. “Aristotle and Principlism in Bioethics”. Diametros, no. 45 (September):59-70. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.45.2015.796.
Section
Special Topic – Aristotelian Recources of Bioethics
Author Biographies

Joseph Cimakasky, Cabrini College

Dr. Joseph CimakaskyCabrini CollegeGrace Hall 255 610 King Of Prussia RdRadnor, PAUSA

E-mail: joseph.cimakasky@cabrini.edu

Joe Cimakasky is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Cabrini College in Pennsylvania. His interests include ancient philosophy, and healthcare ethics. He has practiced Nursing for the past fifteen years as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

Ronald Polansky, Duquesne University

Prof. Ronald PolanskyDuquesne UniversityMcAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal ArtsPhilosophyCollege Hall 303600 Forbes Ave.Pittsburgh, PA 15282USA

E-mail: polansky@duq.edu

Ron Polansky is Professor of Philosophy and Chair at Duquesne University.  He edits Ancient Philosophy.

Share |

References

Anscombe [1958] – G.E.M. Anscombe, “Modern Moral Philosophy,” Philosophy (33) 1958, p. 1–19.

Beauchamp and Childress [2012] – Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress, Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 7th edn., Oxford University Press, New York 2012.

Bulger [2009] – Jeffrey W. Bulger, “An Approach towards Applying Principlism,” Ethics and Medicine (25) 2009, p. 121–125.

Campbell [2003] – A.V. Campbell, “The Virtues (and Vices) of the Four Principles,” Journal of Medical Ethics (29) 2003, p. 292–296.

Cimakasky and Polansky [2012] – Joseph Cimakasky and Ronald Polansky, “Descartes’ ‘Provisional Morality’,” Pacific Philosophical Quarterly (93) 2012, p. 353–372.

Clouser [1995] – K. Danner Clouser, “Common Morality as an Alternative to Principlism,” Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal (5) 1995, p. 219–236.

Clouser and Gert [1990] – K. Danner Clouser and Bernard Gert, “A Critique of Principlism,” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (15) 1990, p. 219–236.

Galen [1997] – Galen, “The Best Doctor is Also a Philosopher,” [in:] P.N. Singer, Galen: Selected Works, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1997, p. 30–34.

Gardiner [2003] – P. Gardiner, “A Virtue Ethics Approach to Moral Dilemmas in Medicine,” Journal of Medical Ethics (29) 2003, p. 297–302.

Jonsen [2008] – Albert R. Jonsen, A Short History of Medical Ethics, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008.

Kraut [2006] – Richard Kraut, “Doing Without Morality: Reflections on the Meaning of Dein in Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics,” Oxford Studies in Ancient Philosophy (30) 2006, pp. 159-200.

MacIntyre [2007] – Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue. 3rd edn., University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame 2007.

Page [2012] – Katie Page, “The Four Principles: Can They be Measured and Do They Predict Ethical Decision Making?” Medical Ethics (13) 2012, p. 1–8.

Pence [2011] – Gregory E. Pence, Medical Ethics: Accounts of Ground-Breaking Cases, McGraw-Hill, New York 2011.

Polansky [2014] – Ronald Polansky, “Introduction: Ethics as Practical Science,” [in:] The Cambridge Companion to Aristotle’s “Nicomachean Ethics,” R. Polansky (ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2014, p. 1–13.

Schneewind [1998] – J.B. Schneewind, The Invention of Autonomy: A History of Modern Moral Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1998.

Singer [1997] – P.N. Singer, Galen: Selected Works, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1997.

Tsai [1999] – Daniel Fu-Chang Tsai, “Ancient Chinese Medical Ethics and the Four Principles of Biomedical Ethics,” Journal of Medical Ethics (25) 1999, p. 315–321.

Williams [1985] – Bernard Williams, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1985.

Williams [1993] – Bernard Williams, Shame and Necessity, University of California Press, Berkeley 1993.