Health and Quality of Life

How could one define health and disease? On what presuppositions, and ought we look for such definitions? Does quality of life inherit a subjective or objective evaluation? Are health and quality of life culture dependent concepts? Under the conditions of technologically advanced medicine and the common tendency towards a hedonistic lifestyle such questions come into focus. Hence, one question is of special relevance: which role does health play in our quality of life? The contributions of this interdisciplinary volume aim at the clarification of the various concepts in use. Internationally well-known scholars and scientists such as Alfred Musschenga, Alfons Labisch, Lennart Nordenfeit, Peter Janich, Henrik Wulff and several others outline the framework for a more comprehensive and demanding concept of health and quality of life including philosophical and cultural aspects as well as medical and psychological dimensions.

Antje Gimmler, Associate Professor for Social Theory at the University of Aalborg, Denmark.

Christian Lenk, Research Assistant at the Department for Ethics and History of Medicine at the University of Goettingen, Germany.

Gerhard Aumüller, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Acting Chairman, Emil von Behring-Library for Ethics and History of Medicine, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany.