Magnanimity in Medicine: The Role of an Ancient Virtue in Health Care

This article explores the role in modern medicine for magnanimity , an ancient virtue defined as believing oneself worthy of great things, while being worthy of them. Through analysis of a clinical case involving a seven-month-old infant with congenital heart disease, the authors discuss how hierarchical dynamics in medicine can compromise ethical decision-making and patient care. The case illustrates how some health-care professionals may fail to act in patients' best interests because of an internalized false perception of lower status or authority, a perception that typically emerges in response to domination by others with perceived higher status. The history and concept of magnanimity provides a lens through which to understand what goes wrong in the case and why. The authors suggest how cultivating magnanimity can help health-care professionals meet the ethical challenges of status and hierarchy in medicine more broadly.