BENEFICENCE: PRINCIPLES AND EXAMPLES OF INSTITUTIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The charity is a voluntary donation or aid is carried out by a group of people in order to promote and encourage the communities most in need. Likewise, charity can also be defined as a public organization that is responsible for protecting and assisting the underprivileged, offering them shelter and medical assistance.

According to the Royal Spanish Academy, "beneficence" means "virtue of doing good." However, the word is also used to refer to a set of services and charities.

Charity can be defined as a public organization that is responsible for protecting and helping the underprivileged. Source: pixabay.com

On the other hand, the María Moliner dictionary establishes that charity is the activity or quality of a person who decides to help others who require it with their means or money.

According to the text Ethics of the professions (2006) written by Carlos Almendro Padilla, it can be established that the word "beneficence" is frequently applied in ethics, as well as in bioethics. In addition, the word evokes paternalistic and welfare connotations, linked to the professions and helping activities.

Similarly, Carlos Almendro affirms that charity is closely related to social policy and health professions, however, it must also be applied in any professional field, since everyone must ensure that they "do good" within their labor or research field.

The concept of beneficence has its origins in classical antiquity, specifically in the work Ética a Nicómano, made by Aristotle (384-382 BC). In this text, Aristotle argued that all research and all art have a tendency to some good, not only from an individual perspective, but also a collective and social one.

Likewise, the principle of beneficence was extracted from the Hippocratic Oath, performed by the well-known Greek physician Hippocrates. In general terms, the oath establishes that the exercise of any activity - specifically that of medicine - must be focused on seeking the good of the other.

Principle of beneficence

Following the guidelines of the Ethics of the professions text, it can be stated that the principle of beneficence consists in "doing a certain activity well and doing good to others through that activity well done."

This premise implies a broad and rich conception of the good that not only applies to any profession, but also to any public and private organization.

Other sources establish that the principle of beneficence is a concept extracted from ethics and its purpose is to guarantee the well-being of a certain group of people. Within the field of public health, this principle implies that the State must act to achieve the best interest of society or the population as a whole.

In conclusion, the concept of charity can be applied to any social field, especially within work development. However, the principles of this notion are also used to constitute the values ​​of certain public and private institutions that are responsible for protecting certain sectors of the population.

Public charity

Charities can be public and private. Regarding public welfare, this is defined as an organization directed by the State that aims to satisfy the basic needs of those who cannot satisfy them by themselves.

This organization is usually non-profit and its character is essentially free. In the origins of public charities, these were made by the Church and those close to it. Later, charity events began to be carried out by governments and other private organizations as well.

The public charity is an organization run by the State that aims to satisfy the basic needs of those who cannot satisfy themselves. Source: pixabay.com

In legal terms, public welfare differs from social insurance and health actions by the following aspects:

- It's always free.

-Its recipients - that is, the people who will benefit from the institution - are a particular group of people. For example: single mothers, abandoned children, homeless, among others.

-Recipients have the option to choose whether or not they want the charity action.

-Public charity has a welfare objective, not police or political.

Examples of charities

The inclusive

The inclusas, also known as Foundling Houses, were charitable establishments that welcomed, housed and raised children abandoned by their parents. The objective of these houses was to prevent infanticides, as well as to protect children from poverty and malnutrition.

The name of these organizations comes from a mystical image, specifically that of Our Lady of the Inclusa, which consisted of the figure of a Virgin who was chosen as the patron saint of foundlings - abandoned newborns. Currently, this type of institution is called an orphanage or "reception center for minors".

Maternity homes

Maternity homes are public establishments dedicated to sheltering women who do not have the means to cover the expenses of their pregnancy. In the beginning, these institutions received women who conceived children illegitimately -outside of marriage- and who wanted to hide both pregnancy and childbirth to protect their honor.

Psychiatric hospital or asylum

Psychiatric hospitals are establishments in charge of mental health, therefore, they carry out diagnoses and propose treatments for mental illnesses. One of its main characteristics is that they have accommodation, which is why people usually go into their facilities.

These organizations derive from asylums and have their origins in Greek temples, where people with psychiatric abnormalities were held. However, before the 19th century, people received no treatment and were chained. Thanks to the physician Philippe Pinel (1745-1826), the chains were removed from the sick and offered more humane treatment.

Likewise, from modern times these organizations began to offer the same services as a general hospital; in addition, they added the practice of specific professionals, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, internal medicine, social workers, neurology, specialized nurses, pharmacy, among others.

Previously, the mental health of human beings was not given much importance; rather, those with mental abnormalities were secluded. Today, professionals around the world have claimed mental hygiene, arguing that it is as important as the health of the body.

References

1. Almendro, C. (2006) General ethics of professions: principle of beneficence. Retrieved on November 5, 2019 from Biblio3: biblio3.url.edu.gt
2. Beauchamp, T. (2008) The principle of beneficence in applied ethics. Retrieved on November 5, 2019 from Stanford: plato.stanford.edu
3. Murphy, L. (1993) The demands of beneficence. Retrieved on November 5, 2019 from JSTOR: jstor.org
4. Rancich, A. (sf) Principles of beneficence and non-maleficence in medical oaths. Retrieved on November 5, 2019 from SAC: sac.org.ar
5. SA (2014) Public charity. Retrieved on November 5, 2019 from Law Law: leyderecho.org
6. SA (sf) Beneficencia. Retrieved on November 5, 2019 from Wilkipedia: es.wikipedia.org
7. Savulescu, J. (2001) Procreative beneficence. Retrieved on November 5, 2019 from Wiley Online Library: shamiller.net