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A Confucian View of Personhood and Bioethics

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Abstract

This paper focuses on Confucian formulations of personhood and the implications they may have for bioethics and medical practice. We discuss how an appreciation of the Confucian concept of personhood can provide insights into the practice of informed consent and, in particular, the role of family members and physicians in medical decision-making in societies influenced by Confucian culture. We suggest that Western notions of informed consent appear ethically misguided when viewed from a Confucian perspective.

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Acknowledgement

The authors thank the reviewers of the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry for their comments on earlier versions of this paper.

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No competing interests declared.

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Correspondence to Erika Yu.

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Yu, E., Fan, R. A Confucian View of Personhood and Bioethics. Bioethical Inquiry 4, 171–179 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-007-9072-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-007-9072-3

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