Health is described as a complete state of physical, spiritual and mental wellness. There are 3 approaches to defining the terms “health” and “disease”, however in this essay intend to contrast and compare two of these, namely naturalism and normativism. Naturalism uses scientific theory as a basis for definitions and highlights what is considered to be normal or natural for humans whereas normantivism relies on reflecting on a person’s values to define their health. Each of these only focus on one of the two factors that need to be considered when discussing medical cases, thus making it difficult to state whether one approach better defines “health” and “disease”.
Naturalism is the most universally used philosophical approach for defining the terms ‘health’ and ‘disease’. Naturalism takes into account that we all have our own beliefs about what is considered normal for humans and that we judge whether something is desirable or not. The naturalist conception of disease is that there are many organ systems in the body, all with their own functions that contribute to the overall functioning of the body. Harmful deviations from the normal functioning of these systems, or …show more content…
Normatvism has its own problems because there is not always agreement about whether an undesirable state is a disease and by claiming that “undesirable” states can definitely be considered diseases, things such as PMS and obesity fall under “disease”. This allows for negative social judgement of all undesirable states, as it includes scenarios such as alcoholism. On the other hand, naturalism states that something one cannot control is a disease, such as acne. In comparison to normativism, naturalism can be considered a better approach because it takes into account the normal state of the body and how disease is a negative malfunctioning of what is considered to be
Naturalism is the most universally used philosophical approach for defining the terms ‘health’ and ‘disease’. Naturalism takes into account that we all have our own beliefs about what is considered normal for humans and that we judge whether something is desirable or not. The naturalist conception of disease is that there are many organ systems in the body, all with their own functions that contribute to the overall functioning of the body. Harmful deviations from the normal functioning of these systems, or …show more content…
Normatvism has its own problems because there is not always agreement about whether an undesirable state is a disease and by claiming that “undesirable” states can definitely be considered diseases, things such as PMS and obesity fall under “disease”. This allows for negative social judgement of all undesirable states, as it includes scenarios such as alcoholism. On the other hand, naturalism states that something one cannot control is a disease, such as acne. In comparison to normativism, naturalism can be considered a better approach because it takes into account the normal state of the body and how disease is a negative malfunctioning of what is considered to be