Autonomy and Bioethics

On Thursday, October 18, 6.00 p.m. medical ethicist Professor James F. Childress (University of Virginia) will give a lecture at the University of Münster on adequate concepts of autonomy in bioethics. The public lecture entitled"Respecting Autonomy in Bioethics: Do We Need a Thicker Concept of Autonomy?" will take place at the Erbdrostenhof, Salzstrasse 38, and acts as the opening of the conference "Thick (Concepts of) Autonomy?". Admission is free. After the lecture, there will be a reception in the foyer of the Erbdrostenhof.

Do We Need a Thicker Concept of Autonomy?

Current controversies in bioethics—for example, about consent to and refusal of medical procedures and participation in research—invite us to explore whether a thick concept of autonomy could enable better resolution of conflicts. After considering what would be gained and lost by adoption of some thicker concepts of autonomy being proposed, this lecture will argue that, for the most part, thinner conceptions, if properly understood, are generally adequate.

James F. Childress is the John Allen Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics and Professor of Medical Education at the University of Virginia. Childress is the author of numerous articles and several books in ethics, especially biomedical and political ethics. His books include Principles of Biomedical Ethics (with Tom L. Beauchamp), Priorities in Biomedical Ethics; Who Should Decide? Paternalism in Health Care; and Practical Reasoning in Bioethics. James Childress served on several bioethical committees including the presidentially appointed National Bioethics Advisory Commission. In 2011 he was a fellow of the Centre for Advanced Study in Bioethics at the University of Münster.