SYMPOSIUM: HEROES—OR JUST DOING THEIR JOB?

Supererogation and altruism: a comment

R S Downie

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor R S Downie, Department of Philosophy, Glasgow University, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland;
R.Downie@philosophy.arts.gla.ac.uk

Revised version received 28 September 2001

Accepted 4 November 2001

Supererogation can be distinguished from altruism, in that the former is located in the category of duty but exceeds the strict requirements of duty, whereas altruism belongs to a different moral category from duty. It follows that doctors do not act altruistically in their professional roles. Individual doctors may sometimes show supererogation, but supererogation is not a necessary feature of the medical profession. The aim of medicine is to act in the best interests of patients. This aim involves neither supererogation nor even the moral quality of beneficence. It is simply a job description. Morality enters medicine through the quality of the individual doctor's work, not by the definition of that work.

Keywords: Altruism; beneficence; medical aims; professions; supererogation

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Dr McKay maintains that the duties of the doctor are supererogatory,¹ and Drs Glannon and Ross maintain that doctors are not altruistic² (although patients sometimes are). What is the difference between supererogation and altruism?

Dr McKay offers a number of accounts of supererogation, of which the most persuasive is that by Onora O'Neill: "[supererogation] is not required but is measured by that which is required; in supererogation the ordinary measures of duty rather than the categories of duty are exceeded".³ Drs Glannon and Ross seem to equate supererogation with altruism (for example, in their abstract, where they say that an act of altruism is supererogatory and is "beyond obligation"). I think they are making a conceptual error here. The error arises from the ambiguity in the expression "beyond obligation", which can mean "in the category of obligation, but exceeding what strict obligation requires", or, "in a different moral category from . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Kirklin, D (2003). The altruistic act of asking. J. Med. Ethics 29: 193-195 [Abstract] [Full Text]