Gassert, Robert G.

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 43 | Number 4 Article 1511-1-1976[Book Review of ] Aims and Motives In ClinicalMedicine, by Brian P. Bliss and Alan G. JohnsonRobert G. GassertFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqPart of the Ethics and Political Philosophy Commons, and the Medicine and Health SciencesCommonsRecommended CitationGassert, Robert G. (1976) "[Book Review of] Aims and Motives In Clinical Medicine, by Brian P. Bliss and Alan G. Johnson," TheLinacre Quarterly: Vol. 43: No. 4, Article 15.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol43/iss4/15both the strengths and the weakness of one outstanding living Protestant theologian. - Edwin L. Lisson, S.J .. S .T.D. Depar tment of Theologica l Studies, St. Louis University Aims and Motives In Clinical ll1edicine Brian P. Bliss a nd Alan G. Johnson Pilmon Medical Publishing Compan.". Ltd., 6 E, 43rd SI" New York, N, y" 10017, 1975, 188 p .. no price giuen, The British surgeon co·authors subtitled this thoughtful book: "A practical lI ppmach to med;cal ethics," It is just that. Not long on theory, it is gea red to assis ting the physician ;:md his co·workers in making the diUicult decis ions L"Onfronting them in the p ractice of medici ne. T his emphasis is at once the strength and the weakness of the authors' treatment of thei r subject, T he strength is most apparent in the solidi ty p rovided by the substant ial number of clinical cases and the guidelines oHered for their solution, I t is the physician 's duty. they assert, " to reneet upon his behaviour, to exercise hu-mility and self-exam ination"' (p, 29). The physician does so by apillyi ng guide-lines generated from a series of ques t ions he is to ask himself. These questions involve a clarification of the issues, the nature of aims and methods (ends and means), and an honest look at the long-term results, Important medical problems are exami ned in the ligh t of these same guide-lines, Individunl chaplers are devoted to nbortion, euthanasia, o rgan trans-Illants, medical resenrch (both thempeutic and purely scientific), doctor-pntient communication ("tell ing Ihe whole truth"), and over·investigation and over· treatment. T he concluding chapter treats the question of motivation with the authors making a hortatory ulliJea l fo r the high idealism needed in the medical Ilrofession: "Unless we have someone or somet hing we call respect , a humility before somet hing o r someolle greater thfln ourselves, to s t imulate and protect our idealism, we sha ll fall prey to self-interest again and again" (p. 172). The wen kness of the book is the absence of any a rgument fo r objective norms of morality, Wh at are the grounds for the doctor 's j udgment of right o r wrong, good or evil? When the physician is advised to ask, " Is the method we choose to put the nim into p ractice mornlly right?," what is to prevent qui te different answers from different physicians? T he aut hors acknowledge that the answer will delJend on one's view of the nnlure of man; the scientific hu -manist's answer will differ radical1y f rom the Christian's. (The sympathies of the authors, incidental1y, seem engaged wit h the Ch ristinn view of man.) The reluctance to asse rt norms is pa rticularly disappointing. T he crises in the years a head will occur because J udea-Christian_based ethics a re being eroded. (One need not look far fo r illustration: witness the U.S. Sup reme Court fu lings on abortion.) The sancti ty of all human life is being sacrificed in the in terests of the quality of human life for some, The au thors should not really be flmlted for not writ ing a supe rlative book. The book they have written can be helpful for people in the health fields, It just may be that a more suasive, theoretical t reatise on the philosophical and religious grounds of mora li ty would meet a more c ritical a nd long te rm need. November, 1976 - Rober t G, GWlJJe rt, S.J , MlU"que tte Univeraity 301 

[Book Review of] \u3cem\u3eAims and Motives In Clinical Medicine\u3c/em\u3e, by Brian P. Bliss and Alan G. Johnson

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[Book Review of] \u3cem\u3eAims and Motives In Clinical Medicine\u3c/em\u3e, by Brian P. Bliss and Alan G. Johnson

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