Argumentation and Health
GBP
Buy:£15.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Argumentation theory has much to offer our understanding of the doctor-patient relationship as it plays out in the context of seeking and obtaining consent to treatment. In order to harness the power of argumentation theory in this regard, I argue, it is necessary to take into account insights from the legal and bioethical dimensions of informed consent, and in particular to account for features of the interaction that make it psychologically complex: that there is a fundamental asymmetry of authority, power and expertise between doctor and patient; that, given the potential for coercion, it is a challenge to preserve the interactive balance presumed by the requirement of informed consent; and finally that the necessary condition that patients be ‘competent to consent’ may undermine the requirement of respecting patient autonomy. I argue argumentation theory has the resources to deal with these challenges and expand our knowledge, and appreciation, of the informed consent interaction in health care.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/jaic.1.1.02bic
2012-01-01
2024-03-29
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1075/jaic.1.1.02bic
Loading
Keyword(s): argumentation theory; autonomy; competency to consent; doctor-patient interaction; informed consent; medical paternalism

Most Cited