Institute News
Edmund Pellegrino Discusses the Erosion of the Hippocratic Oath at the Society for the Preservation of the Greek Heritage
November 1, 2010
On October 27th, Dr. Edmund Pellegrino addressed a session hosted by The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace at the Society for the Preservation of the Greek Heritage (http://spghworld.org/). During his presentation, entitled "Erosion of the Hippocratic Ethic: From Profession to Professionalism," Pellegrino suggested that the Hippocratic Oath has served as a moral ideal in medicine for centuries, but that changing social mores, dramatic increases in medical knowledge and technology, and the general rejection of traditional moral authorities have contributed to this erosion. In response, he argued that we must ground the morality of medicine in the clinical encounter, and he challenged medical students and professionals to focus on developing virtuous lives and their relationship with their patients.
