Health Sciences 2610F/G Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Immanuel Kant, Cultural Relativism, Casuistry
Document Summary
Principles of medical ethics code emphasized on: a set of principles: not only non-maleficence (not harming) but also beneficence towards patients. Bioethics: a discipline that combines biological knowledge with knowledge of human value systems. Bioethics is the study of the ethical dimensions of medicine and the biological sciences emerges from the intersection of science, medicine, and ethics. Before the second half of the 20th century, those principles were applied paternalistically, meaning that the physician alone determined what happens to the patient. Late, a shift in this authority towards recognizing the patients right as well. This shift lead to the development of the principal of autonomy, which is the capacity and the right to self-determination (to formulate your own plans and make your own decisions). Respect for autonomy derives from two fundamental principles from two distinct traditions of moral theory: 1) immanuel kant"s principle of respect for persons as autonomous ends in themselves.