Empathy and the Quest for Social Ethics:

Their Relevance to Contemporary

Healthcare – The European Perspective
Advances in Multidisciplinary Medical Technologies ─ Engineering, Modeling and
Findings pp 3-10 | Cite as

Valeria Tananska (1) 

1. Medical University-Plovdiv, , Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Conference paper
First Online: 08 November 2020

22 Downloads

Abstract

Social participation exists due to empathy for oneself. A single unit is far more
vulnerable to death and the vagaries of nature than the collective. Yet, living with
others is a dangerous affair, best understood when going through a history of
power struggles and extensive bloodshed. To co-habit successfully, we need
socially applied ethics that counter the egocentric design of human nature. In
Europe, ethics has been brought to us by divine intervention. Tensions within
evolving societies, born of intolerable injustice in the temporal world, necessitated
the codification of God’s ethical word into law upheld by the living. The
secularization of the state progressed to create an inclusive society, reflective of
difference. Life spans were prolonged, the quality of life – bettered. A single glitch
occurred in the system. Social ethics outrunned state’s ability to adjust financially
to the changes. Today, complaints are being voiced as to a strain in empathy
provision towards society’s main working unit – the individual. Sadly, the brunt of
the criticism has been absorbed by Europe’s healthcare system. In places, the cries
of patients’ indignation have been matched by shocking, self-promoting
profiteering.

Keywords
Empathy  Social ethics  God  Patients  Healthcare  Europe 
Personalized medicine 
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Cite this paper as:
Tananska V. (2021) Empathy and the Quest for Social Ethics: Their Relevance to Contemporary
Healthcare – The European Perspective. In: Khelassi A., Estrela V.V. (eds) Advances in Multidisciplinary
Medical Technologies ─ Engineering, Modeling and Findings. Springer, Cham.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57552-6_1

First Online 08 November 2020

 DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57552-6_1
Publisher Name Springer, Cham
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Online ISBN 978-3-030-57552-6
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