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Beyond individualism: Is there a place for relational autonomy in clinical practice and research?

Beyond individualism: Is there a place for relational autonomy in clinical practice and research?
Beyond individualism: Is there a place for relational autonomy in clinical practice and research?
The dominant, individualistic understanding of autonomy that features in clinical practice and research is underpinned by the idea that people are, in their ideal form, independent, self-interested and rational gain-maximising decision-makers. In recent decades, this paradigm has been challenged from various disciplinary and intellectual directions. Proponents of ‘relational autonomy’ in particular have argued that people’s identities, needs, interests – and indeed autonomy – are always also shaped by their relations to others. Yet, despite the pronounced and nuanced critique directed at a individualistic understanding of autonomy, this critique has had very little effect on ethical and legal instruments in clinical practice and research so far. In this article, we use four case studies to explore to what extent, if at all, relational autonomy can provide solutions to ethical and practical problems in clinical practice and research. We conclude that
certain forms of relational autonomy can have a tangible and positive impact on clinical practice and research. These solutions leave the ultimate decision to the person most affected, but encourage and facilitate the consideration of this person’s care and responsibility for connected others.
1477-7509
Dove, Edward S.
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Kelly, Susan E.
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Lucivero, Federica
e71d91ba-e277-435a-bcd3-1d01defa4acb
Machirori, Mavis
d52cb135-4a22-4476-a668-aa2fa8ac919e
Dheensa, Sandeep
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Prainsack, Barbara
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Dove, Edward S.
c1d5a986-e14c-4c31-88a5-5ac48498c3c0
Kelly, Susan E.
9c26ad23-2b88-4201-b07a-21fd37b8cd6b
Lucivero, Federica
e71d91ba-e277-435a-bcd3-1d01defa4acb
Machirori, Mavis
d52cb135-4a22-4476-a668-aa2fa8ac919e
Dheensa, Sandeep
d7d7e2bb-8def-4fad-9e1d-33d8141a0c9c
Prainsack, Barbara
8997c43a-6d8b-454f-92b3-62f1b16b2291

Dove, Edward S., Kelly, Susan E., Lucivero, Federica, Machirori, Mavis, Dheensa, Sandeep and Prainsack, Barbara (2017) Beyond individualism: Is there a place for relational autonomy in clinical practice and research? Clinical Ethics. (doi:10.1177/1477750917704156).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The dominant, individualistic understanding of autonomy that features in clinical practice and research is underpinned by the idea that people are, in their ideal form, independent, self-interested and rational gain-maximising decision-makers. In recent decades, this paradigm has been challenged from various disciplinary and intellectual directions. Proponents of ‘relational autonomy’ in particular have argued that people’s identities, needs, interests – and indeed autonomy – are always also shaped by their relations to others. Yet, despite the pronounced and nuanced critique directed at a individualistic understanding of autonomy, this critique has had very little effect on ethical and legal instruments in clinical practice and research so far. In this article, we use four case studies to explore to what extent, if at all, relational autonomy can provide solutions to ethical and practical problems in clinical practice and research. We conclude that
certain forms of relational autonomy can have a tangible and positive impact on clinical practice and research. These solutions leave the ultimate decision to the person most affected, but encourage and facilitate the consideration of this person’s care and responsibility for connected others.

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1477750917704156 - Version of Record
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 19 March 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 13 April 2017
Organisations: Cancer Sciences

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 410722
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/410722
ISSN: 1477-7509
PURE UUID: 599ef50e-a0fb-458e-914f-7479515c0c7c

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Date deposited: 09 Jun 2017 09:27
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 13:28

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Contributors

Author: Edward S. Dove
Author: Susan E. Kelly
Author: Federica Lucivero
Author: Mavis Machirori
Author: Sandeep Dheensa
Author: Barbara Prainsack

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