Beyond Incommensurability and Appropriateness: Integrating the Telos of Medicine and Addressing Compartmentalization in the Spheres of Morality Framework

Abstract

Doernberg and Truog (2023) present a thoughtful analysis of the ethical tensions that arise from physicians increasingly occupying “multiple roles in healthcare”. I take no issue with the classification underpinning the “spheres framework” they develop, as it provides a comprehensive overview of the particular normative commitments of the various healthcare roles. However, the judgment-guiding component of the framework overlooks critical aspects, two of which I discuss next: firstly, the strategic function of the telos of medicine, and secondly, the peril of compartmentalization that lurks behind role-based morality.