https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/dundee/oai:discovery.dundee.ac.uk:studenttheses/8e8fd67e-e395-4237-8de2-f5a78737f33a
type: CreativeWork
name: Ethical decision making in the National Health Service: A theoretical analysis of clinical negligence with reference to the existential writings of Søren Kierkegaard, Emmanuel Levinas, and Jean-Paul Sartre.
description: Jean Paul Sartre proposed that: Historical situations vary…What does not vary is the necessity for him to exist in the world, to be at work there, to be there in the midst of other people, and to be mortal there. The limits are neither subjective nor objective, or rather, they have an objective and a subjective side. Objective because they are to be found everywhere and are recognizable everywhere; subjective because they are lived and are nothing if man does not live them, that is, freely determine his existence with reference to them (Sartre 1987: 38, 39). The Existential philosophy as outlined by Sartre, Levinas, and Kierkegaard cares about the lived experiences of individuals. Such a view is in contradistinction to other philosophical views which have a tendency to reduce human experience, or to lose the individual in abstraction. This thesis has a central concern for the ethical care of patients in the National Health Service. In order to explore the concrete experiences of patients it is necessary to consider the care providers. To that end, the individual health professional then becomes the focus of study. To assist in this approach a double narrative runs through the thesis, which comprises exploring ethical decision making in the NHS, and also on the legal concept of clinical negligence. These two concepts are intertwined in that legal hearings and rulings have a normative influence upon health care practice, and also influence public expectations. The explicit purpose of this approach was to ensure that the theory was explored and developed; grounded upon everyday clinical NHS practice, which includes legal and political influences. The first four chapters of the thesis constructs the three main areas of analysis; Philosophical, legal, and political. With this framework established, the critical analysis of five legal cases of clinical negligence (Chapters Five and Six), establishes convergences in the work of Sartre, Levinas, and Kierkegaard in relation …
abstract: Jean Paul Sartre proposed that: Historical situations vary…What does not vary is the necessity for him to exist in the world, to be at work there, to be there in the midst of other people, and to be mortal there. The limits are neither subjective nor objective, or rather, they have an objective and a subjective side. Objective because they are to be found everywhere and are recognizable everywhere; subjective because they are lived and are nothing if man does not live them, that is, freely determine his existence with reference to them (Sartre 1987: 38, 39). The Existential philosophy as outlined by Sartre, Levinas, and Kierkegaard cares about the lived experiences of individuals. Such a view is in contradistinction to other philosophical views which have a tendency to reduce human experience, or to lose the individual in abstraction. This thesis has a central concern for the ethical care of patients in the National Health Service. In order to explore the concrete experiences of patients it is necessary to consider the care providers. To that end, the individual health professional then becomes the focus of study. To assist in this approach a double narrative runs through the thesis, which comprises exploring ethical decision making in the NHS, and also on the legal concept of clinical negligence. These two concepts are intertwined in that legal hearings and rulings have a normative influence upon health care practice, and also influence public expectations. The explicit purpose of this approach was to ensure that the theory was explored and developed; grounded upon everyday clinical NHS practice, which includes legal and political influences. The first four chapters of the thesis constructs the three main areas of analysis; Philosophical, legal, and political. With this framework established, the critical analysis of five legal cases of clinical negligence (Chapters Five and Six), establishes convergences in the work of Sartre, Levinas, and Kierkegaard in relation …
author: MacLaren, Gordon
language: eng
keywords: Existentialism, Kierkegaard, Sartre, Levinas, Hermanaeutics, ethics, clinical negligence, healthcare, existential ethics, whistle-blowing, decision making
date published: 2013
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:07:52Z
provider: University of Dundee
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Dundee