The Revolution of Medical Thoughts and the Development of Medical Sociology in Contemporary America

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The medical thoughts, has continued since ancient Greece, has received the great revolutionary change at the 70's of American society. People questioned the arbitrary power of doctors and insisted the right of self-determination of patients, not the objects of manipulation by doctors. Then gradually, the shared decision making of doctors and patients was institutionalized, based on the informed consent.The aims of this study are to analyze the real conditions of revolution of medical thoughts, and to make clear the developmental process of medical sociology leading the revolution of medical thoughts. I have tried to elucidate the meanings of academic efforts of the second generation of American medical sociologists, especially Renee C.Fox, Eugine Gallagher, Andrew Twaddle as well as to analyze the Final Report on Studies of the Ethical and Legal Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research by the President's commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, 16 vols, 1983. As regard to the conditions of Japan not receiving baptism of medical thoughts revolution, not institutionalized the informed consent, I think we can get the great fruits if we throw the light on American theoretical efforts during the development of medical thoughts revolution.As the results of this study, I can make clear the following points.(1) There appeared a lots of disputes about problems presented by the advanced medical technologies, then developed the interdisciplinary research of philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, sociology, and medical sciences.(2) Among them, medical sociology play the very important roles to criticize the individualistic bias and the absolutization of the right of self-determination of bioethics. On the basis of these results, I would advance to make clear the change of doctors-patients relationship concretely by the field research,