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Historical Context of the Western Bioethics Approach to Autonomy

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African Traditional Medicine: Autonomy and Informed Consent

Part of the book series: Advancing Global Bioethics ((AGBIO,volume 3))

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Abstract

The principle of informed consent, which includes informed refusal (hence both will be represented in this book as informed consent), is a vital principle in biomedical ethics. In Western bioethics, the emergence of this principle has been influenced by the concept of autonomy that is grounded in rights-oriented liberal individualism. Such an understanding of informed consent has served American society well. However, in other continents, for example Africa, informed consent is used with less success and raises more questions than in Western medical practices. In other socio-cultural groups, alternative approaches to informed consent emerge. These alternative forms of informed consent are based on how socio-cultural groups understand the human person and on how they traditionally make decisions. They are also influenced by how much emphasis a group places on communal culture. This is evident in, but not restricted to, the ethics of care and to African bioethics.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Dr. Bennett is a staff of Ventana Center for Psychotherapy, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.

  2. 2.

    According to Schneewind, Kant’s Proposal, Morality as Self-Governance, is a Revolutionary Rethinking of Morality.

  3. 3.

    For the determination of and test for competency, refer to Beauchamp and Childress 2009, pp. 70 ff.

  4. 4.

    Liberals understand liberty and use its values variously.

  5. 5.

    Beauchamp and Childress support a principle of respect for autonomy with a corresponding right to choose and not a mandatory duty to choose; that the right to choose or to decide is the individual patient’s prerogative, 105.

  6. 6.

    Hermes is the Greek god of commerce, eloquence, invention, travel, and theft who serves as herald and messenger of the other gods.

  7. 7.

    Fox and Swazay assert that liberal individualism sees the common good atomistically and arithmetically as the sum total of the rights and interests, desires and demands of an aggregate of self-contained individuals.

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  1. Center for Healthcare Ethics, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Peter Ikechukwu Osuji

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Ikechukwu Osuji, P. (2014). Historical Context of the Western Bioethics Approach to Autonomy. In: African Traditional Medicine: Autonomy and Informed Consent. Advancing Global Bioethics, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05891-7_2

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