Reconsidering Surrogate Decision Making: Aristotelianism and Confucianism on Ideal Human Relations

摘要: Recent decades have witnessed the rapid development of surrogate decision making in clinical medicine Western countries, especially United States. 1 Various advance-care documents such as ‘‘living wills,’’ ‘‘advance directives,’’ and ‘‘durable power attorney’’ been accepted law become frequently used hospitals. Increasingly patients come to adopt designate other persons their makers event that incompetent. A maker (or proxy) is designated make medical decisions for patient accordance with patient’s previously expressed wishes. Thus, only a person who familiar own values expectations willing follow them should be appointed maker. In practice, it usually either family members or friends are proxies. No doubt this practice has arisen against background increased life expectancy, made possible primarily by progress science technology. Almost all societies today experiencing an increase number aged population. 2 Among elderly chronic diseases, reduced competence often accompanies dementia cognitive disorders. As result, there growing need provide health-care incompetent past would died before reaching condition. However, misleading see rise recent pattern necessarily result declining competence. This certainly necessitates concomitant practice. But not seen sole determinant norms regarding well way which made. There must other, broader deeper cultural scientific technological factors underlying particular method surrogates society. It my view any society determined first foremost dominant perspective on human relations The current American model making, view, best manifestation overall relates