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Pluralism of values is increasingly affecting the objectives of medicine. The Hippocratic Oath which, for centuries, has determined both behavior and decisions of doctors needs to be reviewed in relation to the chances and possibilities of modern medicine. What is perceived by many as “doctoral paternalism” based on medical expertise is replaced more and more by a new kind of decision making in partnership. Patients today are no longer mere objects of medical treatment but dialogue partners in defining objectives of therapies.

Contemporary medical ethics, therefore, need to be focused not only on the well-being of the patient but also on his or her will, which is the reason why the patient’s right of self-determination and the doctor’s duty to care for the patient may come into conflict with each other. For this reason both the mission and the limits of medical treatment have to be renegotiated on an individual level and within the society in general. All these aspects affect, among others, medical training and the law which must decide upon the sectors of medicine which should be subject to individual value orientation and on the extent of minimum agreement on these issue which should be binding for all members of society.

The debate on medical ethics has become increasingly important for almost all of the world’s faiths and religions. Their public statements provide orientation and decision-making support for their members. At the same time learning processes in the civil society are being promoted because debating value-based issues contributes to increased peace capabilities, even if individual opinions will not find majority approval.

The speaker will be:

Udo Schlaudraff,

former Deputy Director of the Center for Medical Ethics in Hanover/Germany and co-author of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s study on “Transplantation of Organs – Ethics, Law and Acceptance”

Discussants are:

Prof. Dr. Soenarto Sastrowijoto,

Director of the Centre for Bioethics and Medicial Humanities, Universitas Gadjah Madah, Yogyakarta

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kamil Tadjudin,

Dean of the Medical Faculty, Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta; Member of the UNESCO Regional Scientific Committee for Asia and the Pacific