HERMENEUTICAL CLINICAL ETHICS - A COMMENTARY

Essays by Thomasma and ten Have recommend hermeneutical clinical ethic s. The use Thomasma makes of hermeneutics is not radical enough becaus e it leaves out basic interpretation of clinical practice and focuses narrowly on ethical principles and rules. Ten Have, while failing to n otice that the hyperreality of clinical ethics is a feature of all lan guage, rightly distinguishes four characteristic parameters of a thoro ughgoing interpretive clinical ethics: experience, attitudes and emoti ons, community, and ambiguity. Suggestions are made for implementing h ermeneutical ethics in clinical teaching.