Dependence and Autonomy in Old Age: An Ethical Framework for Long-Term Care

ISBN-13: 9780521009201 / Angielski / Miękka / 2003 / 218 str.

George Agich

Opis

To reveal the concrete threats to personal autonomy in long-term care, George Agich's book offers a framework for developing an ethic of long-term care within the complex environment in which many dependent and aged people find themselves. Previously published as Autonomy and Long-term Care (Oxford, 1993), this revised edition in paperback has wide appeal among bioethicists and health care professionals.

Recenzje

'Agich's book is a revision of Autonomy and Long-term Care (1993) and the slight change of name is revealing. This book is a relatively accessible paperback for a wide audience, but it has an important and complex philosophical point: to spell out the contextual meaning of autonomy in the 'nooks and crannies' of everyday situations … Agich argues convincingly that all of us are dependent on various structures and various people at different stages in our lives. Rather than autonomy increasing from childhood to adulthood and then decreasing again into old age, we should speak about the nature of our autonomy and our dependencies changing and changing in perfectly normal ways.' Ethical Theory and Moral Practice

Spis treści

1. Introduction; Long-term care images; Autonomy; Autonomy and long-term care: the problem; 2. The liberal theory of autonomy; Pluralism, toleration, and neutrality; The State and positive autonomy; Some problems of positive autonomy; Liberal principles in long-term care; Nursing home admission practices; The use of restraints; The perils of liberal theory; Communitarianism and the contextualist alternative; Practical implications of the debate over the foundation of ethics; Conflict and conversation; The function of rights; Limitation of rights; Paternalism and the development of persons; From paternalism to parentalism; Summary; 3. Long-term care: myth and reality; Myths of old age; Nursing homes; Therapeutic relationships; Concepts of illness and disease; Models of care; The concept of a practice; Home care; Summary; 4. Actual autonomy; Result-oriented theories; Action-oriented theories; The concrete view of persons; Autonomy: a developmental perspective; Narrative approaches; Dependence in human development; Sickness as dependence; Autonomy and identification; The paradox of development and problems of identification; Implications for long-term care; Summary; 5. A phenomenological view of social action; Sociality and the everyday world; General Features of the social nature of persons; Space; Time; Communication; Affectivity; Summary; 6. Autonomy and long-term care: another look; Social reality of Eastside; Appeal to autonomy as independence; A phenomenologically informed analysis; Lessons from Eastside; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.