Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics

The practice of contemporary medicine has been tremendously influenced by western ideas and it is assumed by many that autonomy is a universal value of human existence. In the World Health Report 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered autonomy a “universal” value of human life against...

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Main Authors:	Rathor, Mohammad Yousuf, Mohd Shah, Azarisman Shah, Hasmoni, Mohamed Hadzri
Format:	Article
Language:	English English
Published:	IIUM Press 2016
Subjects:	BJ1188 Religious ethics RC Internal medicine
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/1/51311_Is_autonomy_a_universal_value.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/4/51311_is%20autonomy%20a%20universal%20value_scopus.pdf

id	iium-51311
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-513112017-04-05T07:16:47Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/ Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics Rathor, Mohammad Yousuf Mohd Shah, Azarisman Shah Hasmoni, Mohamed Hadzri BJ1188 Religious ethics RC Internal medicine The practice of contemporary medicine has been tremendously influenced by western ideas and it is assumed by many that autonomy is a universal value of human existence. In the World Health Report 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered autonomy a “universal” value of human life against which every health system in the world should be judged. Further in Western bioethics, patient autonomy and self-determination prevails in all sectors of social and personal life, a concept unacceptable to some cultures. In principle, there are challenges to the universal validity of autonomy, individualism and secularism, as most non-Western cultures are proud of their communal relations and spiritualistic ethos and, thereby imposing Western beliefs and practices as aforementioned can have deleterious consequences. Religion lies at the heart of most cultures which influences the practice patterns of medical professionals in both visible and unconscious ways. However, religion is mostly viewed by scientists as mystical and without scientific proof. Herein lies the dilemma, whether medical professionals should respect the cultural and religious beliefs of their patients? In this paper we aim to discuss some of the limitations of patient's autonomy by comparing the process of reasoning in western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics, in order to examine the possibility and desirability of arriving at a single, unitary and universally acceptable notion of medical ethics. We propose a more flexible viewpoint that accommodates different cultural and religious values in interpreting autonomy and applying it in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural, contemporaneous society in order to provide the highest level of care possible. IIUM Press 2016-06 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/1/51311_Is_autonomy_a_universal_value.pdf application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/4/51311_is%20autonomy%20a%20universal%20value_scopus.pdf Rathor, Mohammad Yousuf and Mohd Shah, Azarisman Shah and Hasmoni, Mohamed Hadzri (2016) Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics. The International Medical Journal Malaysia, 15 (1). pp. 81-88. ISSN 1823-4631 http://journals.iium.edu.my/imjm/index.php/eimj/article/view/426
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English English
topic	BJ1188 Religious ethics RC Internal medicine
spellingShingle	BJ1188 Religious ethics RC Internal medicine Rathor, Mohammad Yousuf Mohd Shah, Azarisman Shah Hasmoni, Mohamed Hadzri Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics
description	The practice of contemporary medicine has been tremendously influenced by western ideas and it is assumed by many that autonomy is a universal value of human existence. In the World Health Report 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered autonomy a “universal” value of human life against which every health system in the world should be judged. Further in Western bioethics, patient autonomy and self-determination prevails in all sectors of social and personal life, a concept unacceptable to some cultures. In principle, there are challenges to the universal validity of autonomy, individualism and secularism, as most non-Western cultures are proud of their communal relations and spiritualistic ethos and, thereby imposing Western beliefs and practices as aforementioned can have deleterious consequences. Religion lies at the heart of most cultures which influences the practice patterns of medical professionals in both visible and unconscious ways. However, religion is mostly viewed by scientists as mystical and without scientific proof. Herein lies the dilemma, whether medical professionals should respect the cultural and religious beliefs of their patients? In this paper we aim to discuss some of the limitations of patient's autonomy by comparing the process of reasoning in western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics, in order to examine the possibility and desirability of arriving at a single, unitary and universally acceptable notion of medical ethics. We propose a more flexible viewpoint that accommodates different cultural and religious values in interpreting autonomy and applying it in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural, contemporaneous society in order to provide the highest level of care possible.
format	Article
author	Rathor, Mohammad Yousuf Mohd Shah, Azarisman Shah Hasmoni, Mohamed Hadzri
author_facet	Rathor, Mohammad Yousuf Mohd Shah, Azarisman Shah Hasmoni, Mohamed Hadzri
author_sort	Rathor, Mohammad Yousuf
title	Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics
title_short	Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics
title_full	Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics
title_fullStr	Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics
title_full_unstemmed	Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics
title_sort	is autonomy a universal value of human existence? scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between western medical ethics and islamic medical ethics
publisher	IIUM Press
publishDate	2016
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/1/51311_Is_autonomy_a_universal_value.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/51311/4/51311_is%20autonomy%20a%20universal%20value_scopus.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T21:12:38Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T21:12:38Z
_version_	1777411354099974144

Is autonomy a universal value of human existence? Scope of autonomy in medical practice: a comparative study between Western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics

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