Apperley, Alan Robert (1991) Personal autonomy and health policy : some considerations in political theory. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis examines some of the implications for social policy of an
account of human nature frequently associated with liberal political
theory. Taking as its starting point the claim that the objectives of
social policy are contested, it seeks to develop an account of autonomy
that will serve as a neutral 'organizational principle' around which to
construct social policy. A particular version of personal autonomy is
developed and defended against both abstract Kantian moral autonomy, and
the individualism often associated with liberal theories. This project
is pursued first through a discussion of the relationship of autonomous
persons to 'social forms', and then through a critique of libertarian
and 'intellectualist' accounts of autonomy. It is argued that, since
autonomy is not only employed in the making of choices, but also in the
implementing of those choices, it follows that the autonomous person
must, of necessity, be viewed 'holistically' for the body is the primary
means of implementing the choices autonomous persons make. The health of
the body, as well as that of the mind, therefore assumes importance for
any social policy that takes autonomy to be a fundamental objective. The
implications for such an account of social policy are then explored in
two ways. First, through a discussion of the phenomenon of 'medicalization'.
Second, through a discussion of the Prevention and Health
campaign. In the first instance, it is argued that the assumption that
medicalization systematically undermines autonomy is ill-founded because
theories of medicalization misunderstand what it is to be autonomous. In
the second instance, the discussion of preventive health-care policy
serves to illustrate the fundamentally erroneous assumptions of
individually-focussed health-care programmes. In conclusion, it is
argued that a unified account of autonomous persons must inevitably lead
to a more integrated social policy.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Social policy, Autonomy (Philosophy), Medical care
Official Date:	September 1991
Dates:	Date Event September 1991 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Politics and International Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Ware, Alan ; Reeve, Andrew
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
Extent:	v, 260 p.
Language:	eng

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