Abstract
Viewed from an historical perspective, the notion of ‘informed consent’ as a part of the relationship between physicians and patients is a ‘Johnny-come-lately’. Although it may appear self-evident that the obligations or duties of physicians and the rights or claims of patients are mutually implicatory, the directions and weights of these implications have been little considered before the present century. Whilst philosophers may have recognised a ‘logical correlativity of rights and obligations’ in general terms, such concepts have been applied historically in, at best, an asymmetrical way to the relations of patients and their doctors.
‘The Physician is the servant of the art.’
Hippocrates: Epidemics I xi 1,165.
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References
Beauchamp, T. L. and Childress, J. F., Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983 ).
Beauchamp, T. L. and Walters L., Contemporary Issues in Bioethics ( Belmont: Wadsworth, 1982 ).
Faulder, Carolyn, Whose Body is it? ( London: Virago, 1985 ).
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© 1990 Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Beck, P. (1990). Informed Consent. In: Evans, D. (eds) Why Should We Care?. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20888-3_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-20888-3_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-51563-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-20888-3
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