Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33837472›Full record

ArticleMedicine, health care, and philosophy2021

Doctor, please make me freer: Capabilities enhancement as a goal of medicine.

Jon Rueda, Pablo García-Barranquero, Francisco Lara

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Clashing Perspectives? Two Approaches to the Desirability of Biological Aging.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Well-being and enhancement: reassessing the welfarist account.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Jon RuedaDepartment of Philosophy 1, University of Granada, Granada, Spain. ruetxe@ugr.es.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5789-7515
Pablo García-BarranqueroDepartment of Philosophy, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6472-5703
Francisco LaraDepartment of Philosophy 1, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9049-8986

Funding

"la Caixa" Foundation LCF/BQ/ DR20/11790005Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad, Gobierno de España FFI2016-79000-P
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Biomedical innovations are making possible the enhancement of human capabilities. There are two philosophical stances on the role that medicine should play in this respect. On the one hand, naturalism rejects every medical intervention that goes beyond preventing and treating disease. On the other hand, welfarism advocates enhancements that foster subjective well-being. We will show that both positions have considerable shortcomings. Consequently, we will introduce a third characterization in which therapies and enhancements can be reconciled with the legitimate objectives of medicine inasmuch as they improve the capabilities that enable the freedom to pursue personal well-being.

Indexed as

GoalsPhysiciansFreedomHumansMotivationPersonal AutonomyAutonomyCapability approachGoals of medicineHuman enhancementNaturalismWelfarism

Identifiers

PMID33837472

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.