Principlism and communitarianism

• Published in: Journal of medical ethics Vol. 29; no. 5; pp. 287 - 291
• Main Author: Callahan, D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Institute of Medical Ethics 01.10.2003; BMJ Publishing Group; BMJ Publishing Group Ltd; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Group
• Subjects: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - therapy; Adult; Alzheimer's disease; Analysis; Attitude to Health; Bioethical Issues; Bioethics; Blood Transfusion - ethics; Cardiovascular disease; Child; Children; Commerce - ethics; Communitarianism; Decision making; Ethical Analysis; Ethics; Ethics, Clinical; Eugenics; Festschrift; Genetic Engineering - ethics; Germ cells; Heart; Heart diseases; Humans; James Childress; Jehovah's Witnesses; Kidney Transplantation - ethics; Kidneys; Medical ethics; Moral judgment; Morality; Parents; Parents - psychology; Personal Autonomy; Philosophers; Principle-Based Ethics; Principlism; Raanan Gillon; Rationality; Social Responsibility; the four principles approach to medical ethics; Thomas Beauchamp; Tissue and Organ Procurement - economics; Tissue and Organ Procurement - ethics; Tissue Donors - ethics; Treatment Refusal - ethics; United States > US; Philosophical Approach; Health Care and Public Health; Professional Patient Relationship; Bioethics and Professional Ethics; Analytical Approach; Genetics and Reproduction
• ISSN: 0306-6800; 1473-4257
• DOI: 10.1136/jme.29.5.287

The decline in the interest in ethical theory is first outlined, as a background to the author’s discussion of principlism. The author’s own stance, that of a communitarian philosopher, is then described, before the subject of principlism itself is addressed. Two problems stand in the way of the author’s embracing principlism: its individualistic bias and its capacity to block substantive ethical inquiry. The more serious problem the author finds to be its blocking function. Discussing the four scenarios the author finds that the utility of principlism is shown in the two scenarios about Jehovah’s Witnesses but that when it comes to selling kidneys for transplantation and germline enhancement, principlism is of little help.