Lalumera, Elisabetta (2023) Moralisation of medicines: The case of Hydroxychloroquine. European Journal for Philosophy of Science, 13 (39). ISSN 1879-4912

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Abstract

The concept of moralisation of health behaviours was introduced in social psychology to describe the attribution of moral properties to habits and conditions like smoking or being a vegetarian. Moral properties are powerful motivators for people and institutions, as they may trigger blame, stigma, and appraisal, as well as the polarisation of interest and scientific hype. Here I extend the concept and illustrate how medicines and treatments can be seen as if they had moral properties, too, when they come to be regarded as good or bad in the moral sense, and not just in the instrumental sense of benefiting or harming health. I propose the hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) controversy of 2020 as an example of moralisation of a medicine. HCQ and chloroquine are anti-malarial drugs, whose off-label use for Covid-19 was hotly discussed in the early months of the pandemic, both in the media and within the scientific community, and eventually dismissed when robust evidence came out. The point of the paper is to show that moralisation of health products and treatments may influence individual and institutional decisions in significant ways, and also affect research. For these reasons, it should be carefully monitored and critically assessed.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Lalumera, Elisabetta elisabetta.lalumera@unibo.it 0000-0002-0345-0838
Keywords:	Moralization; Covid science; values in science; values in medicine; medical research; moral properties; hydroxychloroquine; COVID-19
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Medicine > Health and Disease Specific Sciences > Medicine General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science General Issues > Values In Science
Depositing User:	Dr. Elisabetta Lalumera
Date Deposited:	28 Oct 2024 12:10
Last Modified:	28 Oct 2024 12:10
Item ID:	24119
Journal or Publication Title:	European Journal for Philosophy of Science
Publisher:	Springer
Official URL:	https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13194-0...
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.1007/s13194-023-00542-9
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Medicine > Health and Disease Specific Sciences > Medicine General Issues > Social Epistemology of Science General Issues > Values In Science
Date:	13 July 2023
Volume:	13
Number:	39
ISSN:	1879-4912
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/24119

Available Versions of this Item

• Moralisation of medicines: The case of Hydroxychloroquine. (deposited 14 Jul 2023 12:54)
  • Moralisation of medicines: The case of Hydroxychloroquine. (deposited 28 Oct 2024 12:10) [Currently Displayed]

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