« En quoi les soins palliatifs sont-ils éthiques ? Dialogue entre les soins palliatifs et les éthiques du care »

From the beginning, ethical reflection seems to be inherent in the approach of the palliative culture, by questioning the nature of medical care, its limits and it's meaning. By emphasizing, as a real medical issue, that care for the human being is not reduced to the objectivity of the body, nor to the purpose of its healing, and by insisting on how attention to total pain is fundamentally curing, palliative care reveals an ethical and philosophical dimension. The ethics of care, a recent trend aimed at proposing a new approach to ethics, is interesting to be explored. Indeed, the notion of vulnerability, which is central to it, is questioned in the light of a reflection on work: what are the moral springs of the work of care, both for the care receivers and the caregivers, who are both confronted with a potential shared vulnerability? Our aim will be to examine the epistemological foundations of palliative culture in order to put them in dialogue with the ethics of care: are palliative care naturally “anchored” in care? How do the ethics of care challenge the foundations and practices of palliative care? By questioning the conditions, the purposes and the foundations of palliative care, in their everyday context, the challenge is to put into perspective and renew the ethical dimension of palliative care.