%0 Journal Article
%T Revisiting the Fact/Value Dichotomy: A Speech Act Approach to Improve the Integration of Ethics in Health Technology Assessment
%A Georges-Auguste Legault
%A Suzanne K.-B¨¦dard
%A Christian A. Bellemare
%A Jean-Pierre B¨¦land
%A Louise Bernier
%A Pierre Dagenais
%A Charles-¨¦tienne Daniel
%A Hubert Gagnon
%A Monelle Parent
%A Johane Patenaude
%J Open Journal of Philosophy
%P 578-593
%@ 2163-9442
%D 2018
%I Scientific Research Publishing
%R 10.4236/ojpp.2018.85042
%X Philosophers engaged in the field of applied ethics are often challenged to revisit certain philosophical debates in order to clarify the background concepts involved in a given undertaking at stake. This is particularly evident in the field of Health Technological Assessment (HTA) where the integration of ethics has been a debate for many years. Interdisciplinary technological assessment involves a head-on discussion between the frame of reference of natural sciences and those of philosophy, which often reproduce the fact/value dichotomy debated in the field of philosophy. The challenge for a philosopher is then to explain how the fact/value dichotomy has been criticized by philosophers in such a way that the distinction between ¡°verifiable facts¡± and ¡°unverifiable values¡± cannot be accounted for anymore. The critiques of H. Putnam and S. E. Toulmin were the first steps towards the understanding of the dichotomy. A speech act approach, based on J. L. Austin illocutionary acts, can shed a new light on this issue by clarifying the difference between assertions, evaluations and prescriptions. By using a speech-act approach we can define the respective role of scientific evaluation and ethical evaluation in the HTA process and offer a better guide for the decision-makers on all aspects of adopting a technological development in health.
%K Fact/Value Dichotomy
%K Ethics
%K HTA
%K Health Technology Assessment
%U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=88876