Being Relational: Reflections on Relational Theory and Health Law (Law and Society Series)

Price 30.43 - 38.49 USD

EAN/UPC/ISBN Code 9780774821896


Relational theory has recently gained prominence in philosophy, women"s and gender studies, and bioethics. Yet it has not made substantial inroads into many areas of law and policy. Being Relational seeks to remedy this situation by bringing this powerful theoretical framework to the field of health law and policy. At the heart of relational theory lies the idea that the human self is fundamentally constituted in terms of its relations to others. For relational theorists, the self not only lives in relationship with and to others, but also owes its very existence to such relationships. In this groundbreaking collection, leading relational theorists explore the key concepts of autonomy, judgment, equality, justice, memory, identity, and conscience. In response, health policy and law scholars analyze how such considerations might be brought to bear on pressing issues such as reproduction, allocation of scarce resources, Aboriginal health, mental health, and animal experimentation. Innovative and self-reflexive, Being Relational makes a bold contribution to law and policy studies that will appeal to a broad range of scholars, especially those with an interest in social justice, and who seek to challenge oppression and understand the complex ways in which power is created and sustained relationally. Jocelyn Downie is a professor of law and medicine and a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy at Dalhousie University. She is a member of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada. Jennifer J. Llewellyn is an associate professor of law at Dalhousie University, and director of the Nova Scotia Restorative Justice Community University Research Alliance.