What is it and how to weigh the quality of life for medical decisions

Abstract

How estimate the quality of life is a central topic in medical decisions. All at once, this is a controversial and difficult concept. Its relationship with the human life value is undeniable but, here again; we find another category of difficult characterization. The difficulties are no less when we try to measure the quality of life. Without wishing to give a definitive answer, our purpose is to clarify what is meant by quality of life and describe the various attempts to evaluate it. The elucidation of this concept led us from the industry field and business theory to the controversial field of philosophical anthropology. The different criteria for measuring the quality of life showed serious problems. These problems led us to estimate life as a vital value and, by this way, we reached the moral character of life and quality of life. Finally, the ambiguity and vagueness of the construct put us at risk of falling into ethical relativism. The differentiation between minimum quality of life of and maximum quality of life avoided that risk.