In Good Health

Health is a value-laden concept. The state of being that it designates is a fundamental human goal. As a value, the concept is normative, governing both clinical practice and the therapeutic treatment developed by medical research. Additionally, the promise of health plays a pivotal role in health-policy discourse. Almut Caspary considers philosophical and theological concepts of health in the context of its practical significance, both in the past and today. This conceptual analysis culminates in a preliminary sketch of a concept of health; focusing on the stem-cell debate, it offers a discriminating approach to contemporary ethical problems in medicine.