Abstract
This paper critically appraises the applied action-guide approach to bioethics and finds it wanting in two ways: it is tethered to a social contract view of the doctor-patient relationship that is largely incompatible with experiences of illness and care; and, as a formalist doctrine, it lacks critical edge and tends toward accommodationism. An alternative approach is recommended that involves interpreting moral experience by means once associated with the rhetorical arts — practical reasoning, hermeneutics, casuistry, and thick description.
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Carson, R.A. Interpretive bioethics: The way of discernment. Theor Med Bioeth 11, 51–59 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00489238
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00489238