Human Values in Medicine—From Core Human Values (Universal Values) Perspective

Abstract

According to Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian philosopher, educationist and philanthropist, human values have their derivative from the concept of divinity. In other words, human values are the characteristics of God in human condition. He postulated the five human values, viz: Love, Truth, Right Action, Peace, Non-Violence. Within each value, there is a range of sub-values and they are expressed in medical ethics values. Medical ethics, on the other hand, is a system of moral principles that apply values to the practice of clinical medicine and in scientific research. These values include the respect for autonomy (self-determination), non-maleficence (non-violence), beneficence (charity), justice (equity). Sai Baba points out the subtle difference between human values and ethics, namely, that ethics is a system conceived by humans without underpinning the role that divinity plays. Taken together with their sub-values, these five basic principles encompass a full vision of human potential, namely, the fulfillment of the quest of the intellect for truth, the channeling of the will into satisfying expression through right conduct, the resolution of the conflicts of human emotions and interactions in the achievement of inner and outer peace, the expansion of the heart in the flow of love and the realization of perfect sympathy of all creation through non-violence. Human values in medicine, apart from being the moral benchmark for relationship between physician and patient, necessitate ensuring that clinical and management practices are consistent with widely accepted ethics standards, norms, and expectations. In recent years, scientism as a goal has frequently led to the neglect of the humanism inherent in medical practice that the science of medicine has assumed precedence over the art of medicine. The pedagogy of Sai Baba’s value-based healthcare helps to elicit the human values inherent in every human being.