Thomas Ballantine, William Bennett, John Curnutte, Allen Dyer, and Chase Peterson speak in this excerpt from a discussion about technology, medical ethics, and the practice of medicine as both a humanistic art as well as a clinical science. Topics include ethical questions about defining the beginning and end of life, quality of life issues, and cost factors in making these decisions. Examples include kidney dialysis and the Chad Green case. The participants also comment on how decisions are made for patients and families, and how personal character is a factor in a physician’s approach to treatment and care. John Agresto joins the conversation.
At the time of this interview, Ballantine was professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School. Bennett was chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Curnutte was a research fellow in pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and the Sidney Farber Cancer Institute. Dyer, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1981-82), was professor of psychiatry at Duke Medical Center. Peterson was Vice President for Health Sciences at the University of Utah. Agresto, a Fellow at the National Humanities Center (1978-79), was special programs officer at the Center.
This edition of Soundings was conducted by Wayne J. Pond.
