Human Values in Medicine: A Novel Perspective

According to Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian philosopher, educationist and philanthropist, human values have their derivative from the concept of divinity. In other words, human values are the characteristics of God in human condition. He postulated the five human values, viz: Love, Truth, Right Action, Peace, Non-Violence. Within each value, there is a range of sub-values and they are expressed in medical ethics values. Medical ethics, on the other hand, is a system of moral principles that apply values to the practice of clinical medicine and in scientific research. These values include the respect for autonomy (self-determination), non-maleficence (non-violence), beneficence (charity), justice (equity). Sai Baba points out the subtle difference between human values and ethics, namely, that ethics is a system conceived by humans without underpinning the role that divinity plays. The five basic principles, when combined with their sub-values, encompass a full vision of human potential, namely, the fulfilment of the intellect's quest for truth, the channelling of the will into satisfying expression through right conduct, the resolution of human emotion and interaction conflicts in the pursuit of inner and outer peace, the expansion of the heart in the flow of love, and the realisation of perfection. Human values in medicine entail ensuring that clinical and management methods are consistent with widely accepted ethics standards, norms, and expectations, in addition to serving as a moral benchmark for physician-patient relationships. In recent years, scientism as a goal has frequently resulted in the abandonment of the inherent humanism in medical practise, resulting in the science of medicine taking precedence over the art of medicine. The pedagogy of Sai Baba’s value-based healthcare helps to elicit the human values inherent in every human being.