Today I had a strange day on placement. As a student nurse, I see lots of people living in ways that could be seen as unwise. It got me thinking…
…Is a self-governing agent something that has to be respected above all else?
Or is education, confidence, anxiety, fatigue, etc. capable of significantly undermining a person’s autonomy? - I’m not talking about people that fall under the mental capacity act, I’m talking about people who can lucidly and rationally make seemingly terrible decisions.
Also, if autonomy can be undermined in such a way, how can we respect a person’s right to make bad decisions?
#1. In the USA, YES! In the USSR, not so much. I am assuming that by “a self-governing agent” you mean people.
#2. For everyone everywhere, yes.
#3. In most “free” countries, we let folks live their lives.
Yes, most people are at some time going to make mistakes. I for one know myself well enough to know that I also make mistakes. Big surprise that.
What I am hearing you saying, is that you wonder at what point do we, as a society, take control of peoples lives since they obviously can not, or will not. This has been a major conundrum for “free” societies everywhere, forever. Philosophers go on & on about this.
A problem I see with “society” determining other folks lives, is that “society” often does not make good decisions. Think about the slavery issue in the deep south.
Yeah - I like Free Will and Determinism discussions, too. This is related to medical ethics, though - and not so discussed by philosophers I came across. Although Chomsky talks about this stuff in a modern setting…
…I disagree about the USofA. Many women have complained about being coerced into having C-Sections. Rightly, or wrongly, this is ignoring autonomy.
And in terms of private healthcare, a rich person may have a greater capacity to meet their needs than a poor person.
What I mean is: where does health promotion end, and coercion begin?
