Medical & Health // Case Study: Healing and Autonomy
Case Study: Healing and Autonomy
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Under the Christian narrative and Christian vision, what sorts of issues are most pressing in this case study?
In this case, the most pressing issue is a matter of life and death – whether Mike should wait God to do miracle on James’ condition or invoke a perspective that he should make decision to let James live longer in expense of Samuel’s donation. There are some things that are under control and some are not. Things bound within our control are by nature free, uninhibited, and unconstrained such as opinion, pursuit, and hatred, and in other word, anything lies within our own measures. Epictetus teachings center on belief that the sole element of life that completely within an individual’s control is one’s own mind. Beyond that, it is uncontrollable.
The outside world, including the body, is generally beyond control, and external events are neither good nor evil – only attitudes near those actions can assume a moral quality. That is, things beyond an individual’s control including of possessions, reputation, authority, in one word, anything afar our own actions are out of control. It is a principle of nature that explains: if anyone has taken something of which belongs to other, and owns it as if it belongs to him – the returning effect is obstruction and damage. Contemporarily, this principle is evident in the relationship between environment and man; where nature was abusively used by man, nature in return, responds approximately alike to man’s action – the effect: calamity and death.
God is called as counselor, while nature is things controllable. Gods and nature are situated in a sphere where man relates, stimulates, and responds. They are set still so man can see what pieces are within boundaries and are not, what is unrestrained or directed, for which are essential aspect that must be considered (Kutozova, 2010). Actions not guided by the principle of nature have inevitably turned man to face the wage of thy labor – death, mutilation, or exile. Reality speaking, man exists in a milieu where all things are done that includes of principles both by nature and gods. As existing principles are recurring prior to man’s arrival, man in turn, has to deal with it. Man is free. But that does not mean, they are free to make actions beyond these principles. It implies that man’s rights or benefits end when the rights or benefits of nature started. The fact that man is surrounded by nature through its environment, he has no way to run. It is either to be friend with the nature or take them as foes, in which the consequence is death. Thus, man’s actions (like setting new rules) must follow in accordance to the set guidelines of gods and natures for such purposes are duty and moral bound.
Should the physician allow Mike to continue making decision that seem to him to be irrational and harmful to James?
Mike’s main philosophical thought was ethical. He appears to have disputed that everything was completely indifferent, excludes either good or bad and just or unjust, and to have struggled to live a life which bestows with such value-judgments. Mike challenge to live such as life gave mount to a number of anecdotes, but the principle was relating to the utter apathy of things fell into oblivion, or was just considered as an inquisitive possible doctrine. Mike considered skeptics as inquisitive in a way. His ideas in skepticism can simply be understood in three ways: (1) as a Christian, he believes that God is the ultimate healer and He will heal their son so they went to healing service instead of foregoing the dialysis; (2) when they found out that James’ condition had deteriorated, Mike doubt his faith and thought that God is punishing him or James, and (3) Mike thinks of this problem as a test of their faith.
Philosophy explains that “God sees as present those future things which come to pass through free will. Therefore, free acts, when referred to the divine intuition, become necessary in the conditional sense because God’s knowledge provides that condition; on the other hand, viewed by themselves, they do not lose the perfect freedom of their nature.” This section essentially implies that man by nature is free because God, as the first cause of our actions, provides man the free will for his actions. It is crucial to understand that, though God sees everything, due to His conditional nature of eternity and divinity, does not mean man lose the great freedom of nature. As such, Mike’s test of faith can be best showed by doing what is necessary – to look for matched kidney donor – and not just let God play the role.
According to the Christian narrative and the discussion of the issues of treatment refusal, patient autonomy, and organ donation in the topic readings, how might one analyze this case?
The principle of justice is ought to be given to everyone and financial deficiency is no excuse to argue the hegemonic emphasis on the principle of autonomy. That is, whether patients agree to do the act or not. It is their autonomy rule. Life sustaining treatments and vegetative state must necessarily be administered and scientific advances must likewise be in connection and identical to clinical healing. Making to emphasize that there are natural means of preserving life.Racine urged that the sanctity of life and public reactions endorse for the advocacy of pro-life in the face of death. The probabilities of non-withdrawal of life may be given the dignity to live and sustain life with treatment and not befall on cessation or interruption of care such as withdrawing of nutrition and hydration that are considerably life support of ill person (2010, p. 764).”
Consequently, man acts according to his free will, but he needs God’s grace to become immune to sins. In reality, man does what he likely prefers to be done and makes actions without restrictions, though it is either good or evil. Analyzing this belief, it is what really taking place now. People’s capacity to engage in various life activities are rooted in free will. For example, the choice of Mike to attend the healing mass instead of the dialysis. Explicitly, God does not impede man’s actions though they may be good or evil. Our self can resist temptation and avoid sinning on a certain circumstance by our own attempt of will. However, to become immune to temptation God is providing man the grace to protect from sinning.
According to the topic reading and lectures, how ought the Christian think about sickness and health? How should Mike as a Christian do?
As God sent disease, He also sent antidote for its cure. That is, men should be treated for there is cure for every disease; however, such cure must not be within the treatment prescribed in the bible (Lee, 2007). This inspires Christian scholars and doctors to explore for a treatment with the application of human knowledge and scientific endeavor, and to provide the necessary care to those afflicted with diseases (Sachedina, 2005, p.776). The search of knowledge walks in the path of God, in which motivates the medicine and healing in the Islamic world. Both man and woman seek knowledge and much concentration was particularly given to medicine and caring for the public health. Underlying both the Medicine Christian faith was a structure of practical philosophy that aims to identify the life-sustaining medical treatment and improving health conditions.
As a faithful Christian and as a father too, Mike should take chances of getting matched kidney donors other than the kidney of Samuel. They must pray hard to get matched donor for James other than Samuel; for what is the life of one, if it will be the cause of death of his brother. This decision takes a matter of time and that needs careful consideration. Christian faith believes that God is all around and He is always with his believers no matter what will happen. And He will never let his faithful to have problems they can hardly endure.
How should he reason about trusting God and treating James?
“If it is within my power to change my mind I can make Providence void, for I may change what she foreknows… [But] you cannot avoid the divine foreknowledge any more than you can avoid the glance of an eye which is present, though you may by your free will turn yourself to various different actions (Kutozova, 2010, 25).” God sees everything – the past, present, and the future. Nowhere can man hide or nothing can he pass by without God’s notice. God has provided principles before man has created in this world. These principles are existed in nature along with its principles. As such, man, in order to conform to this ruling principle and maintain the earth’s equilibrium, is necessarily abided not by force but by free will. Alone this approach, that man, nature, and God could have an in-depth attachment to each other. What is mandatory is that man must understand that God’s given free will is more than following it as rule of law and a chain that compel him to make actions because of threat of mutilation, death and exile. But, free will purposely set to developing the virtue of respect to what was individually given to him as creation, since everything is made for different intentions.
Interestingly, the faith and learning of faithful believers distinguish between ‘knowing in one’s head’ and ‘knowing with one’s heart. The division between the two embodied the objective of knowing truth as well as the essential unity of the entire person. Through soul, which is best understood as the ‘psycho-physical totality’, springs the essential center of the whole person and linked the faith of distinguishable mind to the heart. There is another belief which is highly integrated in tradition. In American society has general commonalities and established vastly different dominant spiritual beliefs, in the concepts regarding health and natural wellness that gives power to manifest human state.
References
Kutozova, D. (2010). Narrative practice and Christian belief – A review of Interweavings: Conversations Between Narrative Therapy and Christian Faith by Alexander, I. & Cook, R. (Eds.) (2008) Explorations: An E-Journal of Narrative Practice, No. 2, 99–106.
Lee, S.C. (2007). The family, medical decision-making and biotechnology: critical reflections on Asian moral perspectives: Volume 91 of Philosophy and medicine. The Netherlands: Springer.
Racine, E.R., Bernat, C., Riopelle, J., Richard and Shemie, S. (2010). Observations on the Ethical and Social Aspects of Disorders of Consciousness. The Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences 37.6 (2010): 758-768.
Sachedina, A. (2005). End-of-life: the Islamic view. Viewpoint, Vol. 366, pp. 774–79.
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