| dc.description.abstract | Accompanying the spreading of democracy and the movement of different human rights, people learn to protect their own benefits. The physician-patient relation has also graduately been transformed. According to the principle of respect of autonomy, we have to respect the personal considered decision of the patient. Disrespect of patient’s autonomy is regarded as treating the patient as means to one’s interest and a degradation of human dignity and value, and also causes the greatest disutility. However, it is doubtful that such emphasis of respect of patient’s independence and equality during a medical dilemma will serve the patient’s best interet. Or, rather, we just require that clinical decision be at the patient’s best interest.
In Taiwan, a medical decision usually involves the medical professionals, the patient and the family. These three groups of people form a triad of dicision making. Sometimes they have consensus, sometimes not. In the former case, it is well and fine. In the latter case, there will be a lot of confusion and controversy. Who has the final say? What is the ground for such decision? Do we have some common minimal moral principles? In case of conflict, how should we resolve it? We tend to accept the western point of view and respect the autonomy of the patient, but would such imported value really fit into our ethos and customs? With much difference in culture and religion matters, our whole-heartedness acceptance of the western conception will doubtless leads to serious challenge and causes many difficult moral dilemmas. This is an issue that merits our investigation and seeking of a solution.
In this thesis, I try to bring into our analysis the most influential ethics of east Asian societies, namely Confucian ethics, to make out a compromised solution. The Confucian idea of ethical relational autonomy is being employed to an explication of the problem of informed consent in our physician- patient relation. It proved to be able to provide a new vision on the relation and a solution which is more suitable to the Asian culture and society.
Key Word: principle of autonomy, Confucianism, ethical relational autonomy, physician-patient relationships, informed consent, | en_US |