Sensitive Judgment
Nortvedt, Per: Sensitive Judgment. Nursing, Moral Philosophy and an Ethics of Care
This book discusses the importance of an ethics of care in nursing. Starting with the relevant theories of care, psychology and moral philosophy, it develops the theoretical foundations of a professionally-based ethics of care.
In particular, the book considers how moral and situational considerations are based on empathic, emotionally-rooted faculties. Feelings founded on empathy are also of great importance in minimising moral conflicts, and tackling tricky interpersonal situations with the right attitudes and concern. The author also addresses so-called normative problems such as: to what extent can an ethics of care tell us something about the consideration the patient receives in a health system that constantly places budgets before the ethical excellence of care?
One of the author’s assumptions is that an ethics of care can make important contributions to theories of justice and normative ethical nursing, and become an extension of existing ideas.
This is a sound and substantiated work, which is also the author’s doctoral thesis. In its justification, the committee concluded:
"Nortvedt avoids facile standpoints and has turned in an autonomous piece of work. His thesis is an important contribution to the ethical discussion within nursing, and his account of moral perception and the role of emotions is worth airing in nursing ethics."
First published: 1996, Universitetsforlaget
Per Nortvedt: Biography and bibliography
