The medical covenant: a corrective vision?

Abstract

Contemporary bioethics is a field born of the necessity of its times. Its development and growth are largely propelled by the advances of medical technology, shaped by the wheel of crushing economics. Medical advances, by creating difficult moral dilemmas, probe the consciences of the profession and of society in general of the deeper ethical questions about humans, their humanity, their life and death.Many theories or approaches have sprouted to meet the challenges or the tasks of solving these puzzling moral dilemmas. Of the maze of methods, the FourPrinciple Approach espoused by Beauchamp and Childress seems to command the popularity of the field, of course, not without significant criticisms. The Medical Covenant is another method offered by William F. May and affirmed by others to be the "corrective lens" of contemporary bioethics. This dissertation seeks to contribute to the clarification project of the variegate bioethical methods, theories and approaches by examining this claim: Is the Medical Covenant a "corrective vision" to contemporary bioethics as reflected in the dominant Four-Principle Approach?The dissertation attempts to answer this question by juxtaposing the two approaches side by side for five chosen topics in a method that includes A) an "unpacking" process, and B) a test of relevancy. The "unpacking" process attempts to unveil the underlying logic and philosophies of their positions and the bioethical options offered. A test of relevancy asks the question whether the "corrections," if any, offered by the Medical Covenant are relevant to the tasks of the bioethical enterprise. The dissertation finds the answers to both questions in the affirmative.