Not all cultural traditions have the same conception of personhood. In Confucianism, self-individuation takes place only through engagement with others in the context of one’s social roles and relationships.
The history of Western medicine chronicles a tension between ideologies of patient care—the holistic Hippocratic view and the specialization view, with a depersonalization of the patient that coincides with the rise of pathologic anatomy in the early modern era.
Dichotomies, such as reconstructive vs aesthetic surgery and medical vs cosmetic dermatology, can distort meanings of surgical procedures. This can compromise the value of procedures themselves and practices for their reimbursement.
AMA J Ethics. 2018;20(12):E1188-1194. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2018.1188.
Some physicians who value collective bargaining remain concerned that patient services could suffer, but unionization can be driven by a focus on improving care.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(3):E193-200. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.193.
Health workers care for COVID-19 patients, just as St Roch tended to bubonic plague victims during the Renaissance. Three artworks relate Roch’s story and apply key insights to the 2020 pandemic.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(5):E441-445. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.441.
Professor john powell joins us for this special edition of Ethics Talk to discuss how a lens of “othering and belonging” can help us navigate our obligations to and relationships with each other, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.