Abstract
Trust between a patient and a medical doctor is normally both justified and taken for granted, but sometimes it may need to be negotiated. In this paper I will present how trust can be interpreted as both an explicit and implicit phenomenon, drawing on literature from the social sciences and philosophy. The distinction between explicit and implicit interpretations of trust will be used to address problems that may arise in clinical consultations. Negotiating trust in any way very easily brings distrust into a situation, but sometimes this can be helpful for building a more functional patient-doctor relationship.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.References
Baier, A. 1986. Trust and antitrust. Ethics 96.
Coleman, J.S. 1984. Introducing social structure into economic analysis. American Economic Review Proceedings 74.
Coleman, J.S. 1990 Foundations of social theory. Cambridge: Belknap Press.
Elster, J. 1998. Trust and emotions. Oxford: All Souls.
Fugelli, P. 2001. Trust—in general practice. British Journal of General Practice 51.
Gambetta, D. 1988. Can we trust trust? In Trust: making and breaking cooperative relations, ed. D. Gambetta. Oxford: Blackwell.
Habermas, J. 1992 The theory of communicative action. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hardin, R. 1995 One for all. The logic of group conflict. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Hertzberg, L. 1988. On the attitude of trust. Inquiry 31.
Lagerspetz, O. 1996. The tacit demand: A study in trust. Åbo Akademi, Åbo: Filosofiske Institutionen.
Løgstrup, K.E. 1986. Den etiske fordring. Copenhagen: Gyldendal.
Merton, R.K. 1968. Social theory and social structure. New York: Free press.
Parsons, T., and E.A. Shils. (1951) 1962. Toward a general theory of action. New York: Harper & Row.
Pellegrino, E.D. 1991. The phenomenon of trust and the patient-physician relationship. In Ethics, trust, and the professions: Philosophical and cultural aspects, ed. E.D. Pellegrino, R.M. Veatch, and J.P. Langan. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press.
Skirbekk, H. 1999. Tillit til legen: En drøfting av kommunikasjonsforhold mellom lege og pasient. Department of sociology and human geography. Oslo: University of Oslo.
Skjervheim, H. 2002. Deltakar og tilskodar. In Mennesket, ed. J. Hellesnes and G. Skirbekk. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Watzlawick P., J.H. Beavin, and D.D. Jackson 1967. Pragmatics of human communication: A study in interactional patterns, pathologies, and paradoxes. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Wittgenstein, L. 1973. Philosophical investigations. Oxford: Blackwell.
Wittgenstein, L. 1990. Remarks on the philosophy of psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.
Acknowledgements
I am very thankful for the support and friendly advice I have received from professor Arnstein Finset at the University of Oslo when writing this paper. Others who deserve thanks for commenting previous versions of this paper are professors Lars Hertzberg at Åbo Akademi University, Gunnar Skirbekk at the University of Bergen and Harald Grimen at Oslo University College.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Skirbekk, H. Negotiated or taken-for-granted trust? Explicit and implicit interpretations of trust in a medical setting. Med Health Care and Philos 12, 3–7 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-008-9142-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-008-9142-2