Bennett, Matthew (2025) Moral Distress, Disempowerment, and Responsibility. Philosophy of Medicine, 6 (1). pp. 1-17. ISSN 2692-3963

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Abstract

Since Andrew Jameton first introduced the concept of moral distress, a growing theoretical literature has attempted to identify its distinctive features. This theoretical work has overlooked a central feature of morally distressing situations: disempowerment. My aim is to correct this neglect by arguing for a new test for theories of moral distress. I call this the disempowerment requirement: a theory of moral distress ought to accommodate the disempowerment of morally distressing situations. I argue for the disempowerment requirement and illustrate how to apply it by showing that recent responsibility-based theories of moral distress fail to pass the test.

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Item Type:	Published Article or Volume
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID Bennett, Matthew mbenneb@essex.ac.uk 0000-0001-9482-4091
Keywords:	Moral distress, Responsibility, Disempowerment, Fittingness, Philosophy of emotion
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Medicine
Depositing User:	Professor Alex Broadbent
Date Deposited:	21 Apr 2025 13:28
Last Modified:	21 Apr 2025 13:28
Item ID:	25120
Journal or Publication Title:	Philosophy of Medicine
Publisher:	University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
Official URL:	https://philmed.pitt.edu/philmed/article/view/210
DOI or Unique Handle:	10.5195/pom.2025.210
Subjects:	Specific Sciences > Medicine
Date:	15 April 2025
Page Range:	pp. 1-17
Volume:	6
Number:	1
ISSN:	2692-3963
URI:	https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/25120

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