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Patient Autonomy and the Ethics of Responsibility

Patient Autonomy and the Ethics of Responsibility 148 Book Reviews / Asian Journal of Social Science 36 (2008) 129–161 Alfred I. Tauber 2005: Patient Autonomy and the Ethics of Responsibility , Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 328 pp, ISBN 0-262-20160-7. During the course of the past 60 years or so, medicine has undergone a radical transforma- tion. One effect of this transformation is an increasing distance of physicians from their patients. Th e author of this book, a professor of both medicine and philosophy, traces this development to four main causes: (1) the scientization of medicine, (2) the professionaliza- tion of medical education and practice, (3) the commodification of medical services, and (4) the ascendancy of a rights-based culture that emphasizes patient autonomy at the cost of trust and physician responsibility. Viewed in isolation, each of these factors has, or can be seen as having, benefits. Taken together, however, they have the tendency to undermine medicine’s very function, the healing or amelioration of illness, as they conspire against behavioral and attitudinal traits in doctors that are indispensable for good medical practice. Th is, in a nutshell, is Tauber’s diagnosis of the dilemmas afflicting contemporary medicine. Th e therapy he proposes aims at making it more humane http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asian Journal of Social Science Brill

Patient Autonomy and the Ethics of Responsibility

Schmidt, Volker
Asian Journal of Social Science , Volume 36 (1): 148 – Jan 1, 2008
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2008 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1568-4849
eISSN
1568-5314
DOI
10.1163/156853108X267693
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

148 Book Reviews / Asian Journal of Social Science 36 (2008) 129–161 Alfred I. Tauber 2005: Patient Autonomy and the Ethics of Responsibility , Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 328 pp, ISBN 0-262-20160-7. During the course of the past 60 years or so, medicine has undergone a radical transforma- tion. One effect of this transformation is an increasing distance of physicians from their patients. Th e author of this book, a professor of both medicine and philosophy, traces this development to four main causes: (1) the scientization of medicine, (2) the professionaliza- tion of medical education and practice, (3) the commodification of medical services, and (4) the ascendancy of a rights-based culture that emphasizes patient autonomy at the cost of trust and physician responsibility. Viewed in isolation, each of these factors has, or can be seen as having, benefits. Taken together, however, they have the tendency to undermine medicine’s very function, the healing or amelioration of illness, as they conspire against behavioral and attitudinal traits in doctors that are indispensable for good medical practice. Th is, in a nutshell, is Tauber’s diagnosis of the dilemmas afflicting contemporary medicine. Th e therapy he proposes aims at making it more humane

Journal

Asian Journal of Social Science – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2008

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