TY - JOUR T1 - Health. JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics SP - 174 LP - 181 DO - 10.1136/jme.12.4.174 VL - 12 IS - 4 AU - R M Hare Y1 - 1986/12/01 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/12/4/174.abstract N2 - Many practical issues in medical ethics depend on an understanding of the concept of health. The main question is whether it is a purely descriptive or a partly evaluative or normative concept. After posing some puzzles about the concept, the views of C Boorse, who thinks it is descriptive, are discussed and difficulties are found for them. An evaluative treatment is then suggested, and used to shed light on some problems about mental illness and to compare and contrast it with physical illness and with political and other deviancies which are not illnesses. ER -