Abstract
The question posed in the title of this essay would engage the interest of philosophers. Any serious attempt to answer it, as it is stated, requires skill at the clarification of concepts, like ‘therapeutic’ and ‘relationship’, adeptness at logical argument in demonstrating ‘necessary conditions’, and awareness of the normative and metaethical complexity involved in defining ‘moral conduct’. This is worthy work, but I shall, for the most part, refrain from it. Moreover, the way the question is posed leads toward considerations more theoretical than practical. The most philosophically pleasing result would be a clearer understanding of the meaning of the question and of the sorts of arguments which might allow it to be answered in some meaningful way. Again, this is valuable but, to some extent, unsatisfactory. It is the answer, not the ways of answering, which engages the interests of an audience different from the philosophers: namely, those who are related in the therapeutic relationship — physician and patient.
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© 1983 D. Reidel Publishing Company
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Jonsen, A.R. (1983). The Therapeutic Relationship: Is Moral Conduct a Necessary Condition?. In: Shelp, E.E. (eds) The Clinical Encounter. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7148-6_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7148-6_17
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