Research Catalog

Title

Autonomy and intervention : parentalism in the caring life / John Kultgen.

Author

Kultgen, John H.

Publication

New York : Oxford University Press, 1995.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xiii, 262 pages; 25 cm

Summary

• The basic relationship between people should be one of care, and the caring life is the highest which humans can live. Unfortunately, care that is ill-considered can easily become an illegitimate intrusion on autonomy. Autonomy is a basic good, not to be abridged without good reason. It is not, on the other hand, the only good. Kultgen argues that it is sometimes necessary to intervene in the lives of others in order to protect them from harm or provide important benefits.
• Guidelines, therefore, must be established so that care is both respectful and balanced.
• Some contemporary moralists categorically condemn paternalism, the forementioned intervention without consent. Kultgen examines weaknesses in these arguments and proposes new guidelines for paternalism, which he then names parentalism.
• As the term implies, Kultgen's reconception abandons the patriarchal connotations of the old term, relying instead on the optimal caring roles characteristic of "mothers" and "fathers." Kultgen distinguishes between the personal sphere of interaction (i.e., friends, family, and intimates), and the public sphere of institutions, legislation, and the professional practices, and goes on to explore the implication of parentalism in both these spheres.
• Though Kultgen agrees that paternalistic intervention is morally dangerous, he makes the case that it is equally dangerous to decline to intervene when another's welfare is in jeopardy.

Subject

• Respect for persons
• Caring
• Paternalism > Moral and ethical aspects
• Autonomy (Philosophy)
• Community life
• Involuntary treatment > Moral and ethical aspects

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-256) and index.

Contents

Pt. I. Care. 1. The Life of Care. 2. Care and Moral Intuition. 3. Care and Morality -- Pt. II. Parentalism. 4. The Parental Analogy. 5. Parentalism Defined. 6. The Evaluation of Parentalism -- Pt. III. Autonomy. 7. The Anatomy of Intervention. 8. The Value of Autonomy. 9. The Role of Consent -- Pt. IV. Antiparentalism. 10. Varieties of Antiparentalism. 11. VanDeVeer's Consent-Based Antiparentalism -- Pt. V. Public Parentalism. 12. The State as Parentalist. 13. Feinberg's Antiparentalism. 14. Professional Parentalism -- 15. Conclusion.

ISBN

0195085310 (alk. paper)

LCCN

94005588

OCLC

• 29877007
• ocm29877007

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries