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Clash of definitions: controversies about conscience in medicine.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lawrence, RE; Curlin, FA
Published in: Am J Bioeth
December 2007

What role should the physician's conscience play in the practice of medicine? Much controversy has surrounded the question, yet little attention has been paid to the possibility that disputants are operating with contrasting definitions of the conscience. To illustrate this divergence, we contrast definitions stemming from Abrahamic religions and those stemming from secular moral tradition. Clear differences emerge regarding what the term conscience conveys, how the conscience should be informed, and what the consequences are for violating one's conscience. Importantly, these basic disagreements underlie current controversies regarding the role of the clinician's conscience in the practice of medicine. Consequently participants in ongoing debates would do well to specify their definitions of the conscience and the reasons for and implications of those definitions. This specification would allow participants to advance a more philosophically and theologically robust conversation about the means and ends of medicine.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Am J Bioeth

DOI

EISSN

1536-0075

Publication Date

December 2007

Volume

7

Issue

12

Start / End Page

10 / 14

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Social Responsibility
  • Religion and Medicine
  • Refusal to Treat
  • Physicians
  • Personal Autonomy
  • Negotiating
  • Moral Obligations
  • Judaism
  • Islam
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Lawrence, R. E., & Curlin, F. A. (2007). Clash of definitions: controversies about conscience in medicine. Am J Bioeth, 7(12), 10–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265160701709859
Lawrence, Ryan E., and Farr A. Curlin. “Clash of definitions: controversies about conscience in medicine.Am J Bioeth 7, no. 12 (December 2007): 10–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265160701709859.
Lawrence RE, Curlin FA. Clash of definitions: controversies about conscience in medicine. Am J Bioeth. 2007 Dec;7(12):10–4.
Lawrence, Ryan E., and Farr A. Curlin. “Clash of definitions: controversies about conscience in medicine.Am J Bioeth, vol. 7, no. 12, Dec. 2007, pp. 10–14. Pubmed, doi:10.1080/15265160701709859.
Lawrence RE, Curlin FA. Clash of definitions: controversies about conscience in medicine. Am J Bioeth. 2007 Dec;7(12):10–14.

Published In

Am J Bioeth

DOI

EISSN

1536-0075

Publication Date

December 2007

Volume

7

Issue

12

Start / End Page

10 / 14

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Social Responsibility
  • Religion and Medicine
  • Refusal to Treat
  • Physicians
  • Personal Autonomy
  • Negotiating
  • Moral Obligations
  • Judaism
  • Islam