ABSTRACT
The question should now be raised whether the sources of guidance discussed previously provide an adequate basis to guide moral action? The question assumes that ethical decisions are based, at least in part, on ethical theory. This, in itself, is a contentious proposition. There is little empirical evidence as to how far clinicians draw on ethical theory in arriving at (hopefully) ethically defensible positions, or, indeed, how far anyone relies on overarching theories in determining right from wrong. Some philosophers argue that our grasp on moral traditions and theories is so patchy and incomplete that theory alone cannot provide an adequate basis for action.
