Narrative ethics

Abstract

Narrative ethics developed as a critique of analytic moral philosophy and the principles that shaped early developments in healthcare’s bioethics movement. It resulted in a method for understanding health care ethical dilemmas at the level of individual cases. This chapter reviews the various moral theories preceding narrative ethics, then provides a description of the narrative approach that places emphasis on the telling and listening to the patient’s story as a path toward moral reflection when patient and health care professional join on the occasion of the patient’s illness experience. Two cases illustrate the potential for narrative ethics to enrich the care of persons facing difficult emotional and psychological challenges, one a story of end-of-life decision-making, the other a case involving trauma and depression.