Practical Wisdom, Clinical Judgments, and the Agential View. J Med Philos 2025 Mar 20;50(2):147-158
Date
02/11/2025Pubmed ID
39932859DOI
10.1093/jmp/jhae046Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105000992981 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 2 CitationsAbstract
This paper argues that practical wisdom represents a useful framework for understanding the synthesis of the scientific, technical, and moral dimensions of medical practice and may, therefore, guide the meaningful integration of concepts of competence and character into the education and support of both the technical and moral agency of medical professionals. The authors show the importance of practical wisdom in three distinct domains: (1) in effective deliberation in clinical judgments; (2) in helping clinicians flourish by making wise decisions in light of the moral and emotional challenges they face in their practice; and (3) in helping physicians navigate between the rights of patients, the physician's own moral good, and the objective good intrinsic to medicine. To promote the physician's own moral good and the objective good intrinsic to medicine, the authors propose a philosophical position, the agential view, that preserves an essentialist view of medicine but emphasizes the necessity to develop a personal moral philosophy of clinical practice.
Author List
Jotterand F, Derse A, Spellecy R, Stawski C, Kalet AAuthors
Arthur R. Derse JD, MD Director, Professor in the Institute for Health and Humanity department at Medical College of WisconsinAdina Kalet MD Emeritus Professor in the Medicine department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Ryan Spellecy PhD Assistant Provost, Director, Professor in the Institute for Health and Humanity department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Clinical CompetenceClinical Decision-Making
Ethics, Medical
Humans
Judgment
Morals
Philosophy, Medical
Physicians
