Informed Consent: Foundations and Applications

Author

Joanna Smolenski, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Philosophy

Advisor

David Papineau

Committee Members

Miranda Fricker

Jesse Prinz

Subject Categories

Applied Ethics | Bioethics and Medical Ethics | Ethics and Political Philosophy | Genetics and Genomics | Mental Disorders | Psychiatry and Psychology | Theory and Philosophy

Keywords

informed consent, epistemic injustice, standpoint theory, philosophy of psychiatry, gene editing

Abstract

Since its advent in the 20th century, informed consent has become a cornerstone of ethical healthcare, and obtaining it a core obligation in medical contexts. In my dissertation, I aim to examine the theoretical underpinnings of informed consent and identify what values it is taken to protect. I will suggest that the fundamental motivation behind informed consent rests in something I’ll call bodily self-sovereignty, which I argue involves a coupling of two groups of values: autonomy and non-domination on the one hand, and self-ownership and personal integrity on the other. I will then go on to consider two 'case studies' I take to shed light on what is at stake in securing informed consent - consent in psychiatrically ill populations, and consent to interventions that involve the modification of the genetic germline.

Recommended Citation

Smolenski, Joanna, "Informed Consent: Foundations and Applications" (2021). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4503