Healthy Thoughts: European Perspectives on Health Care Ethics

This book, edited by a team of leading European bioethicists, is in all respects an innovative publication. As part of the core materials project of the European Ethics Network, this book collects European perspectives on health care ethics reflecting both the rich philosophical tradition and the broad interdisciplinary network in the field of European health care ethics. In the first part of the book on the physician-patient relationship, the authors present different views on the integration of patient autonomy in the relational structure of the medical profession. Here, the focus is on the reception of patient autonomy in the European context and on European alternatives for the radical understanding of patient autonomy. In the second part of this book, the contributions deal with the ethical problems of clinical research with patients and with the ethical values involved in human experimentation. In the third part of the book, the just organisation of the health care system and the consequent resource allocation are critically examined. With their common European background, the authors want to enrich and encourage the ongoing discussion on the physician-patient relationship, human experimentation and justice in health care from various perspectives and different points of departure. Therefore, this volume is suitable for the interested reader as well as for educational purposes.