Autonomy and Long-Term Care

George J. Agich

ISBN 10: 0195074955 / ISBN 13: 9780195074956

Published by Oxford University Press Inc, US, 1993

About this Item

The realities and myths of long-term care and the challenges it poses for the ethics of autonomy are analysed in this perceptive work. The author argues that the standard view of autonomy as non-interference and independence has limited applicability for long term care. He offers an account of `actual autonomy' in which individuals are perceived to be interdependent with others and the world. Hence, actual autonomy stresses the developmental and social nature of the individual. Through a phenomenological analysis of long term care, the author develops an ethical framework for it by showing how autonomy is actually manifest in certain structural features of the social world of long term care. The work concludes wuth a discussion of the advantages associated with phenomenologically inspired treatment of actual autonomy for the ethics of long term care. Drawing on the rich sociological and anthropological literature on ageing and long term care, this timely work is essential reading for all biomedical ethicists and professionals providing long term care.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780195074956

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Autonomy and Long-Term Care
• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc, US
• Publication Date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195074955
• ISBN 13: 9780195074956
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 457 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The realities and myths of long-term care and the challenges it poses for the ethics of autonomy are analyzed in this perceptive work. The book defends the concept of autonomy, but argues that the standard view of autonomy as non-interference and independence has only a limited applicability for long term care. The treatment of actual autonomy stresses the developmental and social nature of human persons and the priority of identification over autonomous choice. The work balances analysis of the ethical concepts associated with autonomy with discussion of the implications of the ethical analysis for long term care. A central chapter involves a phenomenological analysis of four general features of everyday experience (space, time, communication, and affectivity) and explores their practical implications for long term care. This work concludes with a discussion of the advantages associated with a phenomenologically-inspired treatment of actual autonomy for the ethics of long-term care.

About the Author

George J. Agich is at Southern Illinois University.