"Slow Cures and Bad Philosophers" uses insights from the philosophy
of Ludwig Wittgenstein to rethink bioethics. Although Wittgenstein
produced little formal writing on ethics, this volume shows that,
in fact, ethical issues permeate the entirety of his work. The
scholars whom Carl Elliott has assembled in this volume pay
particular attention to Wittgenstein's concern with the thick
context of moral problems, his suspicion of theory, and his belief
in description as the real aim of philosophy. Their aim is not to
examine Wittgenstein's personal moral convictions but rather to
explore how a deep engagement with his work can illuminate some of
the problems that medicine and biological science present.
As Elliott explains in his introduction, Wittgenstein's philosophy
runs against the grain of most contemporary bioethics scholarship,
which all too often ignores the context in which moral problems are
situated and pays little attention to narrative, ethnography, and
clinical case studies in rendering bioethical judgments. Such
anonymous, impersonal, rule-writing directives in which health care
workers are advised how to behave is what this volume intends to
counteract. Instead, contributors stress the value of focusing on
the concrete particulars of moral problems and write in the spirit
of Wittgenstein's belief that philosophy should be useful. Specific
topics include the concept of "good dying," the nature of clinical
decision making, the treatment of neurologically damaged patients,
the moral treatment of animals, and the challenges of moral
particularism.
Inspired by a philosopher who deplored "professional philosophy,"
this work brings some startling insights and clarifications to
contemporary ethical problems posed by the realities of modern
medicine.
"Contributors." Larry Churchill, David DeGrazia, Cora Diamond,
James Edwards, Carl Elliott, Grant Gillett, Paul Johnston, Margaret
Olivia Little, James Lindemann Nelson, Knut Erik Tranoy
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