Introduction to medical ethics – how to understand Hippocratic tradition today

Summary

The author offers some insights into the philosophical basis of contemporary medical ethics. The application of well known classical texts by Ernst Tugendhat and Aristotle are presented. Today we must understand that ethics derive from human freedom. Moral rules come from the need of human beings to live together in society. Moral rules understood in this way help us to accept the Aristotelian concept of eudaimonia as the ultimate goal (telos) of human life. Eudaimonia of a physician comes from both his keen interest in the profession and the appreciation given by society. To balance both is not an easy task. In the first place contemporary society demands the highest professionalism from physicians. Other claims are mainly of negative nature. A physician is obliged to respect decisions made by his patient and by politicians on any level. In the context of the growing interference of other parties in the work of physicians (patients, management, politicians) the responsibility of physicians to apply new medical findings in clinical practice has declined.

Key words:
medical ethics, ethics of responsibility in medicine, Aristotelian ethics, law in medicine