Abstract
There is concern that the patient-doctor relationship is damaged and medical practice is less humane. In an overview of the book, evidence of the dehumanisation of patients is discussed. Clarifying the nature of empathy, a first step towards humanising medical practice is followed by a broad relational model of empathy including virtues such as compassion, sympathy, kindness, generosity and humility. The process of empathy in the context of the patient-doctor relationship is examined. The aims and role of empathy are described before outlining the need for a different approach to medical ethics to enable humane medical care. Empathy-based ethics is a clinical approach, linked to both virtue ethics and care ethics, supplementing conventional bioethical principles. After examples of the approach in clinical practice, ways in which the empathy-based approach might be embedded in clinical practice, medical education and research are debated before looking to the future for empathy-based ethics.
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Jeffrey, D.I. (2020). Introduction. In: Empathy-Based Ethics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64804-6_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64804-6_1
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