Humanidades e ciência: uma leitura a partir da Bioética de Van Rensselaer (V. R.) Potter

Abstract

A Bioética surgiu em um momento em que a distância entre a ciência e as humanidades parecia intransponível. Em seu surgimento, a Bioética possuía um apelo para superar essa distância que se revelava fatal para o futuro desenvolvimento da humanidade e para a manutenção das condições de vida nesse planeta. É nesse contexto que V. R. Potter propôs seu conceito original de Bioética como uma integração entre a Biologia e os valores humanos -especialmente a filosofia moral -para orientar a sobrevivência humana. Nesse sentido, o presente texto procurará desenvolver o significado do conceito de Bioética para V. R. Potter e o problema das "duas culturas", isto é, da necessidade de construção de um diálogo entre as humanidades e a ciência, buscando uma convergência da relação ética de todos os saberes em torno do cuidado da vida.Palavras-chave: Humanidades. Ciência. Bioética. Ética. Van Rensselaer Potter.

Prática confortadora ao idoso hospitalizado à luz da bioética

“…The term "bioethics" emerged in the 1970s through technological advances in the fields of biomedicine, establishing a method for analyzing concrete cases and ethical problems that arose in health care practice 17 . The principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice underpin this approach -which is why it was called "principlism" -guiding professional conduct in decisions in the face of moral conflicts of care and contributing to care based on respect and human dignity [17][18][19] .…”

“…Bioethics brings discussions of great relevance, related to the values and moral principles of nursing practice in hospital gerontology. It recognizes that every advance in the field of biomedical sciences must be at the service of humanity, paying attention to the conscious use of new technologies in the medical sciences [17][18][19] . Thus, it is concerned with the care provided to the elderly, especially in the hospital environment, where sometimes technological resources are available, and it is important to reflect on bioethical issues involving this type of device.…”

“…In gerontological care, beneficence refers to the act of doing good to the hospitalized elderly, promoting strategies for their comfort 17,18 . The nursing team should share and explain to the patient and their family the need, benefits, and risks of the actions to be performed, avoiding unnecessary invasive procedures and respecting the decision, beliefs, values, identity, and privacy of those involved.…”

“…The nursing team should share and explain to the patient and their family the need, benefits, and risks of the actions to be performed, avoiding unnecessary invasive procedures and respecting the decision, beliefs, values, identity, and privacy of those involved. The principle of beneficence encompasses another inseparable one: non-maleficence 17 , which consists of the professional duty not to cause harm and minimize the risks to the patient's quality of life 22 .…”

“…Such principle implies equal treatment and comfort 17,18 , offering the older patient what is needed according to their demands and particularities. The nurse, by ensuring comfort actions -which sometimes provide maximum benefit at minimum cost -puts into practice their awareness for the fight for the rights of the elderly.…”