Showdown at the Medical Office

I believe philosophical issues underlie most everyday issues. I was visiting the doctor when a philosophical issue appeared.

A man stood at the counter refusing to sign a form. He said he wouldn't sign anything he didn't understand.

His persistence that he would not sign the form made things awkward. But it also made me think, "what's required morally to give our consent?"

If we don't fully understand the document we're signing, have we really given our consent to being morally obligated to its terms and conditions?

A Cognitive Requirement Emerges

Why might you think knowledge of what we're signing is required for being morally obligated to what we sign?

Without satisfying a knowledge condition, many ethicists think we're not morally responsible for our actions. If I don't know that I'm spooning poison into a cup of coffee and I serve it to my friend and she dies, I'm not morally responsible for her death (assuming I shouldn't have known better).

Similarly, you might think a knowledge requirement must be met to secure moral consent.

If I don't know what I'm signing regarding a form related to my well-being, you might think I haven't given my consent morally to be bound by the terms and conditions. Were I to not satisfy or violate those terms and conditions, I'd be doing nothing immoral. I might be legally responsible. But why think I'm morally responsible?

What do you think?

Do you think there's a knowledge requirement for moral consent? Why or why not?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below. And, keep searching for the philosophical aspect of everyday life.