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Values‐based medicine and modest foundationalism
Author(s) -
Little Miles,
Lipworth Wendy,
Gordon Jill,
Markham Pippa,
Kerridge Ian
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of evaluation in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.737
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2753
pISSN - 1356-1294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2012.01911.x
Subject(s) - axiology , flourishing , foundationalism , epistemology , health care , psychology , sociology , social psychology , law , philosophy , political science
Philosophically, values refer to the basic commitments that justify judgements, beliefs and practices, both at the community and personal levels. The study of these kinds of values is axiology . We suggest that all people subscribe to three foundational values – survival, security and flourishing – and that these foundational values are expressed by way of concepts, systems, principles and practices that may differ substantially from culture to culture. Values can stand on their own as foundational justifications for health care and medicine. Many ethical quandaries can be better understood, even though they may remain unsolved, by reference to the foundational values that people can agree upon. This version of values‐based health care has strong claims to prior logical status as a justification for the whole enterprise of health care, and values‐based medicine is a part of this larger domain.