Abstract
As several of the authors in this volume point out, the concepts of sanctity of life and Menschenwürde (human dignity) have played significant roles in the theology, philosophy, and jurisprudence of the Western world. These concepts refer to basic values which have been and continue to be both widely and deeply held. The aim of this volume is to investigate whether and how sanctity of life and Menschenwürde can help to address pressing moral issues in contemporary medicine. In the title of his contribution, H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr. [4], poses a specific question, “Can these concepts help direct the use of resources in critical care?” Engelhardt’s answer is that their usefulness for this purpose is very limited. He argues that these concepts lack the conceptual clarity and rational grounding necessary to dictate specific and compelling answers to our moral and policy questions regarding the proper use of critical care.
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© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Moskop, J.C. (1996). Not Sanctity or Dignity, But Justice and Autonomy: Key Moral Concepts in the Allocation of Critical Care. In: Bayertz, K. (eds) Sanctity of Life and Human Dignity. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 52. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1590-9_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1590-9_13
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