Culture, Sustainability, and Medicine in the Twenty-first Century. Re-grounding the Focus of Medicine Amidst the Current 鈥淕lobal Systemic Shift鈥?and the Forces of the Market: Elements for a Contemporary Social Philosophy of Medicine
文摘
This article analyzes the role and the status of medicine within the 鈥減ost-modern鈥?culture(s) of the West. As we know, culture is a major factor that influences the perception, the interpretation, and the expectations toward medicine, medical institutions, medical politics, and the persons involved with them. When culture changes, the social construct called 鈥渕edicine鈥?changes. Today, the Western condition of 鈥減ost-modernity鈥?finds itself in a process of rapid change due to the 鈥済lobal systemic shift鈥?that is manifesting since a couple of years within all four main systemic logics and discoursive patterns of Western societies: in culture, religion, politics, and economics. In this situation, the article tries to elaborate on crucial questions about how a contemporary social philosophy of medicine can be delineated within the current 鈥済lobal systemic shift鈥?and what some consequences and perspectives could be. It pleas for an integrative philosophy of medicine which has to strive to re-integrate the 鈥?de) constructivist鈥?patterns of 鈥渘ominalistic鈥?post-modern thought (dedicated primarily to freedom and equality) with the 鈥渋dealistic鈥?patterns of 鈥渞ealistic鈥?neo-humanism (dedicated primarily to the 鈥渆ssence鈥?of human dignity and the possibility of intersubjective morality). Only the institution of a balanced 鈥渟ubjective-objective鈥?paradigm can ensure medicine its appropriate place, role, and status within our rapidly changing society.