Approche par les principes, approche par les cas : les limites philosophiques d'une opposition

This paper puts forward the hypothesis that interaction between a case-by-case approach and an approach based on principles is both necessary and fruitful when dealing with the moral dilemmas of everyday medical practice. This paper intends to show in a theoretical way the necessity and fruitfulness of this interaction in order to highlight the fact that for the past sixty years the idea of a controversy between a case-by-case approach and an approach based on principles has been questioned rather than confirmed by medical ethics and moral philosophy. It is argued that the actual issue is not to demonstrate that an interaction between the two approaches can have a beneficial effect on moral reasoning, but rather to identify the most fruitful ways to generate mutual feedback between cases and principles. The paper by V. Fournier and M. Gaille, “Approche par les principes, approche par les cas: sur le terrain, une complémentarité nécessaire et féconde”, has been conceived to complete this theoretical approach [1].