RELIGST 2C03 Lecture 11: FEB 9 - RELATIONAL AUTONOMY

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELIGST 2C03
• Professor: Shannon Buckley

Document Summary

A relational approach to autonomy in health care - sherwin. Agency = the making of a choice: being able to make a decision, many people conflate the two terms (the narrow view of looking at autonomy - the ability that one can make a decision) She argues this is a mistake - doesn"t allow us to see what is limiting the choices a patient can make. Often the two are conflated, which sherwin argues is a mistake. By focusing only on choice making we risk ignoring (or simply not recognising) social conditions that limit the choices we are able to make. Begins with a relational understanding of personhood/self. The relational self is embedded in a variety of relationships, both interpersonal and political: a particular social situation and we develop with help of others. We become who we are with the help (or hindrance) of others.