Humility in health care ethics

Abstract

Finally there is humility within health care ethics. In a context of exaggerated claims made in the name of medical (especially genetic) science and seemingly unlimited patient demand, this fourth virtue is particularly apposite today. Within medicine humility in a moral sense is to be distinguished from etiquette. In terms of etiquette it is good manners not to boast about being able to do something even when there are grounds for believing that it can be done. However, as a moral term, humility involves a proper recognition both of personal frailty (and, thus, of the need for personal temperance and restraint) and of the role of others in achieving something. For the medical professional there is a constant temptation to claim too much authority and knowledge (a temptation in which patients themselves frequently conspire). Regrettably, there is also a parallel temptation for theologians engaged in health care ethics to claim too much (divine) authority and (revealed) knowledge. An emphasis upon reticence, temperance or humility is certainly not unique to Christianity. Confucianism advises leaders to retain the respect of their people and Buddhism, in at least some of its forms, encourages detachment from excessive and unrealistic desires: both have been powerful carriers of humility. Within theistic traditions there is a particular reason for the importance of temperance and humility. The Qu'ran, like the Jewish and Christian scriptures, expresses this frequently: given their belief in God as creator, human beings as creatures should indeed be humble, temperate and restrained.