Joseph Collins | Should Doctors Tell the Truth?
Collins writes from a physician's point of view in 1927 about male, upper-class patients. His stance is paternalistic. He decides what is best for his patients and how much they should know, focusing, on the one hand, on positive consequences of his decisions to lie to patients (they did not despair or commit suicide) and, on the other hand, on negative consequences of his decisions to tell the truth to patients (they did despair or commit suicide). At times he appears to justify his right to lie to patients on the basis of his superior understanding of their psyches and at others times on the fact that a prognosis is impossible due to the state of current medical knowledge.
-If the patient can be convinced to live appropriately given the diagnosis, Collins believed, the physician has
A) behaved unethically.
B) failed in his obligation.
C) discharged his obligation.
D) not done his duty.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Collins believed that if a patient could be convinced to live appropriately given the diagnosis, the physician has fulfilled his obligation, even if it involved lying.