The lexis of moral sense and practical ethics in late eighteenth-century medical writing: Duties, offices, and conduct

Lonati, Elisabetta

doi:10.1075/cilt.364.06lon

Part of

Unlocking the History of English: Pragmatics, prescriptivism and text types
Edited by Luisella Caon, Moragh S. Gordon and Thijs Porck
[Current Issues in Linguistic Theory 364] 2024
► pp. 129–152

Duties, offices, and conduct

The lexis of moral sense and practical ethics in late eighteenth-century medical writing

Elisabetta Lonati | University of Eastern Piedmont Amadeo Avogadro,

The general aim of this study is to investigate the lexis of moral sense and practical ethics in a number of medical works published between 1770 and 1803. Two physicians laid the foundations of medical morality: John Gregory (1724–1773) and Thomas Percival (1740–1804). In their works, they highlight and discuss the notions of duty/-ies, office/-s, and conduct in many different contexts, and gradually define their specific shades of meaning in the emerging medical profession over time. The study will exemplify how these three words are used within Gregory’s and Percival’s works (e.g., frequency rate across works, textual and discourse relevance), and will also explore their function in structuring medical ethics, as well as their role in governing medical practice and performance.

Keywords: medical ethics, medical writing, eighteenth century, medico gentility, culture of medicine, duty and duties, offices, conduct, medical profession, medical education

Article outline

1.General and specific aims
2.Socio-cultural background
3.Sources
4.Methods
- General issues
- Word selection
5.Results
6.Discussion
- 6.1Gregory’s Observations (1770) and Lectures (1772)
- 6.2Percival’s Jurisprudence (1794) and Ethics (1803)
7.Final remarks
Notes
References

Published online: 4 April 2024

https://doi.org/10.1075/cilt.364.06lon

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