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Psychosocial and Religious Aspects of Medical Ethics

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Abstract

The Second World War convulsed the world both physically and morally. In the aftermath came a determined attempt to assess a world moral order. The Nuremburg war crimes trials were the focus of this reassessment in which two opposing moral positions were brought face to face. The defendants argued that they were implementing the laws of the land; the prosecution argued that certain basic human rights and responsibilities were self-evident and inviolable. The issue was clear: Are there universal norms of human morality or does each society construct its own relative system of morality?

“I will not permit consideration of religion, nationality, race, party politics, or social standing, to intervene between my duty and my patients.”

Declaration of Geneva

World Health Organization, September 1948.

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© 1973 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Pattison, E.M. (1973). Psychosocial and Religious Aspects of Medical Ethics. In: Williams, R.H. (eds) To Live and To Die: When, Why, and How. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4369-2_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4369-2_23

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-90097-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-4369-2

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