Chastity in Ancient Medical and Religious Texts: A Perspective on Professional Ethics
Akhlāq-i zīstī i.e., Bioethics Journal,
Vol. 14 No. 39 (1403),
28 Tir 2024
,
Page 1-15
https://doi.org/10.22037/bioeth.v14i39.46089
Abstract
Background and Aim: One of the topics emphasized in contemporary medical professional ethics is the crucial issue of chastity. A physician’s chastity is not only highlighted as a moral virtue and religious duty in ethical and religious texts but also receives serious attention in historical and ancient medical literature. In addition to these texts, a strong emphasis on this matter can be observed in numerous religious and doctrinal sources, particularly in hadith and jurisprudential references, to the extent that it can be regarded as a historical subject within these texts.
Methods: This study employs a descriptive-analytical method using library resources.
Ethical Considerations: This research adheres to ethical principles, including maintaining textual authenticity, honesty, and fidelity.
Results: In response to the question of whether a physician’s chastity is merely a personal ethical obligation or virtue or if it transcends this and constitutes a patient’s right, this study reinforces the latter assumption. Identifying the ancient medical history of this issue and its alignment with religious doctrines reveals that virtue ethics preceded contemporary professional ethics, thereby contributing to cultural enrichment. Moreover, this connection links modern ethical advancements to past traditions on the subject.
Conclusion: The issue of chastity in ancient medical texts, regardless of religious perspectives, has always been a matter of attention. Therefore, from a historical standpoint, it is deeply and consistently intertwined with the professional ethics of this branch of science. This finding links the current ethics-based structure to the distant past, as if what is emphasized today under the concept of chastity as a patient’s right had already been reflected earlier.
- Chastity
- Physician
- Historical Texts
- Religious Texts
How to Cite
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