The Four Principles of Medical Ethics and the Criterion of Proportionality Cover Image

Die vier medizinethischen Prinzipien und das Kriterium der Verhältnismäßigkeit
The Four Principles of Medical Ethics and the Criterion of Proportionality

Author(s): Stephan Ernst
Subject(s): Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Health and medicine and law, Welfare services
Published by: Uniwersytet Opolski
Keywords: Four principles of medical ethics; proportionality; patient autonomy; fair distribution; balancing of goods and evils; double effect;

Summary/Abstract: The four principles of medical ethics (autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, justice), which are influential today and often received unquestioningly in practice, have repeatedly encountered critical inquiries in the ethical discourse, in which the return to a uniform ba- sic ethical principle is demanded. In this article, an attempt is made to make the principle of proportionality, which has always been the basis of medical and nursing practice and which also results from the principle of non-maleficence itself, comprehensible as such a ba- sic principle. The proportionality criterion proves to be an approach to systematically recon- struct the four principles in their context and to develop solutions for many of the difficulties associated with their application in practice.

  • Issue Year: 43/2023
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 91-118
  • Page Count: 28
  • Language: German