History, Philosophy and Ethical Perspectives on Healthcare
A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 1510
Special Issue Editors
Interests: history of medicine; medical ethics; bioethics; research ethics; social diversity and access to healthcare; ethics of digitalization of healthcare; politicization of medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: ethical challenges of diversity in healthcare; ethics of digitalization of healthcare; history of medicine; research ethics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Modern medicine and modern life sciences have a long tradition. Scientific development in medicine and philosophical reflection on it have always been interconnected. However, nowadays, modern technological progress, cutting-edge methods, and improved techniques put our societies before new challenges on a daily basis. Scientific breakthroughs promise a better quality of healthcare, but at the same time they raise important questions: Should we really put to use everything that is possible? What are the ethical limits of technologies such as, for example, genetic engineering, new reproduction techniques, or artificial intelligence in patients’ care? How should research on such technologies be conducted in order to preserve human dignity and autonomy? These questions are why moral reservations are repeatedly voiced when it comes to implementing new developments into medical practice. This calls for an increased role of ethics in medicine. Progress should be possible; however, it should be reflected on ethically, especially if it is applied to human beings. Medical research, the treatment of diseases, and medical care should be accompanied by ethics. In this way, we can take a critical look at the risks, evaluate the benefits, respect the rights and preferences of patients and test persons, and, last but not least, ensure that scarce resources in the healthcare system are fairly distributed.
Philosophical arguments play a central role in resolving these challenges, just as philosophical foundations are important for understanding medicine in general. Medicine, perceived as a practical science, must be reflected upon in terms of the philosophy of science, especially if we consider the epistemic record of medicine. Finally, it needs to be acknowledged and appreciated that medicine is part of a long historicocultural heritage. Both medical theory and medical practice have a history that extends far beyond the European tradition and has produced a rich diversity of research. Answers to modern challenges in medicine should be contemplated from different positions, reflecting various philosophical, historical, and cultural standpoints.
This Special Issue aims to bring together contributions that address historical, philosophical, and ethical issues in medicine, reflected upon from an individual or integrative point of view. The Guest Editor invites contributions from across the globe from a wide range of academic perspectives, including, but not limited to, the history of medicine, the philosophy of medicine, and medical ethics.
You may choose our Joint Special Issue in IJERPH.
Prof. Dr. Florian Steger
Dr. Marcin Orzechowski
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- medical philosophy
- history of medicine
- medical ethics
- biomedical technologies
- research ethics
- ethical analysis
