Medical ethics, fuzzy logic and shared decision making

Abstract

Medical practice is often viewed as a series of complex decisions bringing together normative aspects as well as factual knowledge. Sadegh-Zadeh's reconstruction of medicine as a deontic discipline is taken as a starting point for an analysis of shared decision making processes in medicine. The focus lies on shared responsibility within patient-physician-interaction from an ethical point of view. It is argued that shared decision making processes need a good basis in facts and information provided to the patient on the one hand side, where fuzzy logic might help. On the other hand the normative dimension of decisions cannot be reduced but relies on personal interaction and processes of deliberation. The involvement of the patient in a decision making process can be seen as an aim in itself and should be structured along the individual needs of the patient. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.