Nursing and healthcare: Philosophical aspects

38^th International Conference on Nursing & Healthcare

October 16-18, 2017 | New York, USA

Lorella Congiunti

Pontifical Urbaniana University, Italy

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

There are some philosophical notions connected to nursing and healthcare, such as compassion, vulnerability and happiness. Compassion isnâ�?�?t only a feeling, but it is a moral virtue, and vulnerability isnâ�?�?t only an accident but it is a weakness of ontic character. For a clearer analysis of compassion and vulnerability we need a clear philosophical anthropology. Materialistic monism and spiritualist dualism tries to explain the essence of human beings, but only an ontologically based personalism is capable of an explanation that human beings are a unified whole of body and soul. Humanity consists not only in being-human but also in becoming human, making one-self human, drawing ever closer and better to what we are. We are human beings: this is a fact. We are imperfect: this is a fact. So, our being-human is bit simply a fact, but it is a task. Our end is to realize the potential implicit in our humanity, by developing ourselves in the direction indicated by our humanity. Finally, happiness consists in this task of â�?�?humanization.â�?