In a recent article in the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy , David Ost (1984) claims that patients do not have a right to waive their right to information. He argues that patients cannot make informed rational decisions without full information and thus, a right to waive information would involve a right to avoid one's responsibility to act as an autonomous moral agent. In support of his position, Ost cites a passage from Mill. Yet, a correct interpretation of the passage (...) in question would support one's right to remain uninformed in certain situations. If the information would hurt one's chances for survival or hurt one's ability to make calm, rational decisions, then one not only does not have a duty to find out the information, but one's exercising one's right to remain uninformed may be the only rational course of action to take. Keywords: medical ethics, informed consent, autonomy, information waiver, right, rationality CiteULike Connotea Del.icio.us What's this? (shrink)

This essay discusses the issue of informed consent as it relates not only to physician duty but also to patient duty. The author is particularly concerned with the possibility of battery charges against the physician unless a clear patient duty is articulated. In summary, the author concludes that we can prevent doctors from being forced to commit battery in a way which allows them to make reasonable choices for their patients without being open to the charge of having committed battery. (...) At the same time, we would not allow doctors to abuse this privelege. (shrink)

John Kekes offers a theory of eudaimonism, believing that lives are good "only if they are both personally satisfying and have moral merit". He distinguishes between "the social and personal aspects of the moral tradition. The social aspect is concerned with people's responses to each other in the countless rather impersonal encounters of daily life, [whereas] personal morality is concerned with people pursuing good lives by trying to realize private aspirations and establish enduring intimate relationships". Much of Moral Tradition and (...) Individuality concerns itself with how agents should balance social and personal morality. (shrink)