There is a strong modern medical ethic of “truth telling” and “truth finding”. It is the basis of evidence-based medicine. With patients, making the clinical diagnosis frequently results in complicated conversations that happen over multiple encounters. In contrast during my episodes of medical practice in Africa, I learned that family communication was a critical first step in sharing medical information with patients. It was a stark contrast to the HIPPA environment that informed my Western practice.
The current cultural “truth” debates have challenged our understanding of how we hear and tell the truth. The “information age” has challenged our information management as outlined in the recent book by Max Fisher, “The Chaos Machine”. It is a dark story of the addictive design of the social media platforms.
During this same time, I read David Meyer’s book, “A Quiet World”, a memoir of his journey with hearing loss. It is a “old” book, but valuable as it chronicles the rapidity changing technology of hearing assistive technologies.
These two perspectives on the values and hazards of our information age, brought me to the importance of truth telling as a communitarian ethic. I was reminded of a sermon by Peter Jonker at the beginning of the pandemic that pointed to the origins of that wisdom.
Truth telling, at its best, begins with listening that builds and heals communities.
Thanks,
Marvin
References
Huang HL; Cheng SY; Yao CA; Hu WY; Chen CY; Chiu TY Truth Telling and Treatment Strategies in End-of-Life Care in Physician-Led Accountable Care Organizations:
Discrepancies Between Patients' Preferences and Physicians' Perceptions.
Medicine. 94(16):e657, 2015 Apr.
Fisher, M. (2022). The Chaos Machine. Little, Brown.
Myers, D. G. (2000). A Quiet World. Yale University Press.
Jonker, P. (11/18/2020) Advance my Neighbor’s Name - Ninth Commandment Devotion
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Hage, M. (2014). Hearing Stories.
http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2014/04/hearing-stories.html
Hage, M. L. (2021). Healing Hearing
http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2021/02/healing-hearing.htm
