Locke’s Understanding of Personal Autonomy as a Source of the Modern Concept of Patient Autonomy

Abstract

In philosophical and social history, John Locke is known as the initiator of the classic form of empiricism and the theoretical basis of democratic rule. One of the consequences of his empirical philosophy and, at the same time, the basis of his theory of the state and law was his concept of the human person and his autonomy. In this theory, a person is understood as a human being who is able to see himself as integral in different times and in different places. Personal autonomy means that a human being as a person is in possession of himself, that he has the right of self-ownership, thanks to which he also has legal rights. This article demonstrates that the fundamental principle of respect for the patient’s autonomy which is generally accepted and treated as obvious in the modern world has its roots in Locke’s thoughts.