Personal autonomy and mental capacity

Personal Autonomy and Mental Capacity

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 has put the assessment of mental capacity for decisionmaking at the forefront of psychiatric practice. This capacity is commonly linked within philosophy to (personal) autonomy, that is, to the idea(l) of self-government. However, philosophers disagree deeply about what constitutes autonomy. This contribution brings out how the competing conceptions of autonomy woul...

Personal Identity, Individual Autonomy and Group Rights

It is a commonplace in liberal circles that individual persons have a right to individual autonomy or self-determination. Each mentally competent adult has a right to be at liberty to live and shape their own life in accordance with their own view about what makes for a good life, free from undue coercion or interference by others, so long as they do not harm others. In the words of John Stuart...

Personal Mental Hygiene

Personal Autonomy and Informed Consent: Conceptual and Normative Analyses

his licentiate thesis is comprised of a “kappa” and two articles. he kappa includes an account of personal autonomy and informed consent, an explanation of how the concepts and articles relate to each other, and a summary in Swedish. Article 1 treats one problemwith the argument that a patient’s consent to treatment is valid only if it is authentic, i.e., if it is “genuine,” “truly her own,” “n...

Obligations to treat, personal autonomy, and artificial nutrition and hydration.

Personal autonomy and the right of self-determination are the basis of the right to refuse treatment. They do not grant the right to demand treatment that the responsible doctor regards as not clinically indicated. 'Best interests' operates as a test in relation to patients who are incompetent. The doctor-patient relationship is a joint enterprise with the aim of improving patient welfare as cl...