Paternalism and certitude. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • When paternalism is deemed morally justified, weak paternalism-which restricts itself to assisting the target of paternalism realize his own preferences-is the preferred (less problematic) alternative. In determining the appropriateness of weak paternalism, the level of certitude of the paternalist regarding the correctness of her assessment of the true preferences of the one-paternalized is obviously a crucial factor. Yet in the ethics of paternalism this parameter has escaped systematic treatment. This paper aims to initiate discussion on this indispensable consideration for weak paternalism. Analysing a real-life dilemma of paternalism in healthcare, the paper focuses on the theoretical question of how the paternalist can optimize her certitude by combining personal knowledge of the individual patient with population data on treatment refusal/consent of patients facing similar decisions. The paper presents an outline of a decision-making scheme that can be valuable in medical ethics and beyond.

publication date

  • January 17, 2020

Research

keywords

  • Clinical Decision-Making
  • Decision Support Techniques
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • Paternalism

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85078632722

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1111/bioe.12700

PubMed ID

  • 31950506

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 34

issue

  • 5