PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HUMANISTIC PRINCIPLES IN MEDICINE

Humanistic principles in medicine arise from a long philosophical effort to define what it means to treat a human being not merely as a biological organism or clinical case, but as a person possessing intrinsic worth, moral standing, vulnerability, agency, and a claim to just and compassionate care. This article examines the philosophical foundations of humanistic medicine through several interconnected traditions: the concept of human dignity, the principle-centered architecture of modern biomedical ethics, the idea of beneficence as the moral orientation of the healing professions, the virtue-ethical understanding of the good physician, and the human-rights framework that universalizes respect, non-discrimination, and protection of the person.