Valuing Health: Benefit Disparities and Global Development Aid in Population Philosophy (2011)

November 16, 2011 | Rose Hill Campus

This faculty ethics seminar was led by Professor Gerard Vong (philosophy) and the response was delivered by Robert Brent (economics). If we can only administer one medical drug that saves a small number of peoples’ lives or another that cures the minor ailments of a vast number of people, which ought we to administer? On the basis of such cases where the individual benefits between different options are qualitatively disparate, Professor Vong challenged widely used measurements of health and disease burden. He argued that while useful, such measurements obscure ethically important features of the distribution of healthcare and development benefits.