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Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2025
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| _version_ | 1867614101485649920 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Michel, Gaenor Jayne |
| author2 | Hall, Susan |
| author_browse | Hall, Susan Michel, Gaenor Jayne |
| author_facet | Hall, Susan Michel, Gaenor Jayne |
| author_sort | Michel, Gaenor Jayne |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134705 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:46:41.344Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/134705 Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being Michel, Gaenor Jayne Hall, Susan Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Philosophy. Paternalism Bioethics Autonomy (Philosophy) Well-being Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2025. Michel, G. J. 2025. Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/e0e6d95c-e640-4028-b037-256991e63cc5 ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation seeks to investigate the ethical justification of medical paternalism by way of a comprehensive analysis of the notion of well-being. I come to the conclusion that well-being consists in engaging in objectively valuable pursuits whilst subjectively believing in their value. This means that well-being is not totally subjectivist in nature, nor totally objectivist in nature; that prudential value is made up of subjective value and objective value. This conceptualisation coheres with the intuition that we want to live objectively good lives, and we also want to be able to believe or judge our lives to be good. These findings have important implications for the ethical justifiability of medical paternalism. Medical paternalism is traditionally justified on the basis that it constitutes an instance of beneficence, due to the fact that it is premised upon an avoidance of harm or the securing of a benefit. The account of well-being that I develop in this dissertation, however, entails that the concept of a benefit (and likewise the concept of an avoidance of harm) is jointly subjectively and objectively constituted. This means that where a medical practitioner acts in accordance with what is objectively valuable but not also subjectively valued by the patient, the medical practitioner does not provide a benefit to the patient and therefore does not act beneficently; and where a medical practitioner acts in accordance with what is subjectively valued by the patient but not also objectively valuable, the medical practitioner also does not provide a benefit to the patient and therefore also does not act beneficently. The upshot: paternalistic interference in the form of performing objectively valuable, but unendorsed, treatment is unjustifiable. Only paternalistic interference in the form of refusing to perform patient-endorsed treatment which is not also objectively valuable is justifiable. Paternalistic behaviour in the medical sphere is therefore largely unjustifiable. These findings have further important implications for the content of the duty to act beneficently. In summary, only in those instances where a medical practitioner acts in accordance with what is objectively valuable and subjectively valued by his or her patients, does he or she truly provide a benefit to his or her patient and therefore act in accordance with the duty to act beneficently. The upshot is that being a beneficent medical practitioner necessitates making a concerted effort to pay attention to patients’ subjective values, but with a critical eye in view of helping patients to understand when their subjective pursuits are not objectively valuable. The goal is to get to a treatment that is balanced between both of these planes. Only then will it be truly prudentially valuable. AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Geen opsomming beskikbaar. Doctoral 2025-12-24T09:02:32Z 2025-12-24T09:02:32Z 2025-12 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134705 en Stellenbosch University 220 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Paternalism Bioethics Autonomy (Philosophy) Well-being Michel, Gaenor Jayne Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being |
| title | Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being |
| title_full | Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being |
| title_fullStr | Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being |
| title_full_unstemmed | Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being |
| title_short | Paternalism and bioethics: towards a coherent account of well-being |
| title_sort | paternalism and bioethics towards a coherent account of well being |
| topic | Paternalism Bioethics Autonomy (Philosophy) Well-being |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/134705 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT michelgaenorjayne paternalismandbioethicstowardsacoherentaccountofwellbeing |