The Necessary Hedonism of Disenchantment: Analysis of the Disenchantment of the Universe with Particular Attention to Medicine and Theology

Modern medicine claims to be something it is not: morally neutral. Thus advancements made in the field of biotechnology are hailed and welcomed as the natural order. They are refused questions of morality because the endeavor is understood as amoral. Specific attention is paid to the advancements of physician-assisted suicide and eugenics within the practice of medicine. Throughout this discourse I propose the impossibility of any morally neutral practice, specifically medicine, following the disenchantment of the world. Insofar as the materialist morality is one of hedonism, medicine is directed toward the end of the uncensored elimination of suffering and the expansion of autonomy. I seek to understand how a Christian ought faithfully engage in the practice of medicine, given its secular end. Through this discourse I ultimately call the Church to a richer understanding of her role in medicine, to her role in the life of those suffering.