Doctors, Honour and the Law: Medical Ethics in Imperial Germany

Medical ethics in Imperial Germany were deeply entangled in professional, legal and social issues. This book shows how doctors' ethical decision-making during the Kaiserreich was guided by their notions of male honour and professional reputation and by considerations of professional politics rather than by concern for patients' interests. It illustrates how medical men adhered to a paternalistic conception of the doctor-patient relationship, despite experiencing pressures from lawyers and patients to recognize a right of the sick individual to self-determination. Initiatives like that of the Berlin psychiatrist Albert Moll, who in 1902 published a detailed account of how medical ethics could be built upon a contract relationship between doctor and patient, remained exceptional.