Free and Virtuous Medicine: To Heal, Not Harm

We have a fiduciary relationship with health care professionals. We trust that they will always act for our benefit — striving to heal, not harm us. How they respond to the myriad ailments they encounter each day often means the difference between health and illness, perhaps even life and death, for those whom they treat.

This lecture provides a critical analysis of the predominant ethical framework that helps guide the responses made in secular medicine and proposes a more comprehensive and exacting framework in its place. It is intended to foster dialogue and problem-solving so that we can all participate — both patient and health care professional — in free and virtuous medicine.