Vulnerability and Care: Christian Reflections on the Philosophy of Medicine

Description

Medical and bioethical issues have spawned a great deal of debate in both public and academic contexts. Little has been done, however, to engage with the underlying issues of the nature of medicine and its role in human community. This book seeks to fill that gap by providing Christian philosophical and theological reflections on the nature and purposes of medicine and its role in a Christian understanding of human society. The book provides two main 'doorways' into a Christian philosophical theology of medicine. First it presents a brief description of the contexts in which medicine is practiced in the early 21st century, identifying key problems and challenges that medicine must address. It then turns to issues in contemporary bioethics, demonstrating how the debate is rooted in conflicting visions of the nature of medicine (and so human existence). This leads to a discussion of some of the philosophical and theological resources currently available for those who would reflect 'Christianly' on medicine. The heart of the book consists of an articulation of a Christian understanding of medicine as both a scholarly and a social practice, articulating the philosophical-theological framework which informs this perspective. It fleshes out features of medicine as an inherently moral practice, one informed by a Christian social vision and shaped by key theological commitments. The book closes by returning to the issues relating to the context of medicine and bioethics with which it opened, demonstrating how a Christian philosophical-theology of medicine informs and enriches those discussions.

Dr Andrew Sloane is Senior Lecturer in Old Testament and Christian Thought and Director of Postgraduate Studies at Morling Theological College (affiliated with the Australian College of Theology and the University of Divinity), Australia. He studied medicine at the University of NSW and practiced briefly as a doctor before studying theology at Morling College, where he completed both his BTh (1990) and his ThD (1994) through the Australian College of Theology. He has ministered in Baptist churches and been on faculty at Ridley (Anglican) College in Melbourne (1996-2002) and Morling (Baptist) College (2002-). His publications include articles in bioethics, philosophy, and the Old Testament; On Being a Christian in the Academy (2003); At Home in a Strange Land (2008).

This reviewer encourages readers who are interested in pursuing medicine as a profession, bioethicists, theologians, or anyone just curious about an insider's view to read this work. The history, philosophies, and theologies discussed within, as well as the medical and bioethical questions raised, make Sloane's work well worth the time spent reading. * Reading Religion * Andrew Sloane's Vulnerability and Care is a brave attempt to redefine our approach to one of civilisation's most enduring endeavours ... This is a thought-provoking book. * The British Society for Literature and Science * Modern medicine is sick and the scandals that have made it so have not been, for the most part, failures of technical competence but more fundamental failures of care. In this ground-breaking book, Andrew Sloane examines a wide range of topics from Ebola to euthanasia, from evidence-based medicine to organ donation through the lenses of theology and philosophy and comes to a radical conclusion. His central thesis is that the primary goal of medicine is not healing and alleviating suffering, at the expense of care for the vulnerable, but rather it is to care for the vulnerable including healing and alleviating suffering where possible. When we can't cure, we must still care, and Dr Sloane makes a powerful case for why we need to change the focus of the practice of medicine before it loses its soul completely. * Trevor Stammers, St Mary's University, UK * Few would disagree with Andrew Sloane's claim that medicine is searching for a clear understanding of what it is about, but his contention that it is not primarily about health and healing and the alleviation of suffering is much more contentious. Through a careful and engaging analysis of some current medical issues, contemporary bioethics and the relevant philosophical and theological literature, he convincingly justifies both claims. His view is that medicine is not so much about health care but about health care. That it is first and foremost a moral practice (rather than a science) which recognises our human solidarity in weakness, frailty and finitude. A major challenge to the standard Christian and secular understandings of the nature of medicine. * Denise Cooper-Clarke, Ethos Insitute, Australia * Andrew Sloane brings a rich double background to this provocative and much needed work on the philosophy of medicine. He is trained in both medicine and theology. William James described philosophy as a particularly stubborn attempt to think clearly. The best theology is equally the result of such stubbornness. Clarity and careful reflection informed by both fields are much in evidence in this volume. So too is Sloane's concern for the vulnerable and their need of care informed by his Christian worldview that frames the discussion. Sloane believes that "medicine is searching for a clear understanding of what it is and what it is about." This volume is an important response to that search because it deals not just with descriptive questions but the normative ones of how medicine it to be thought about and what the proper ends of medical practices ought to be. * Graham A. Cole, Trinity Evanglical Divinity School, USA *