Orhan Onder

For decades, metaontological debates have been structured around paradigmatic examples: Sherlock Holmes for fictional objects and the number 7 for abstract objects. These examples, while useful, are philosophically “safe” and historically entrenched. However, 21st-century technology creates entities that defy these clean categorizations. In this paper, I argue that the digital twin—a dynamic virtual model of a physical system—serves as a useful contemporary test case for metaontological reflection. It brings together the problematic features of both fiction and abstract objects while introducing a new, critical dimension: causal efficacy. This novel constellation of attributes forces refinements in debates between Quineanism, fictionalism, Meinongianism, and grounding-based approaches. Analysis shows that digital twins strengthen Quinean indispensability arguments, challenge fictionalist and Meinongian views due to their active role in the causal order, and are best elucidated as dependent entities through grounding relations. By applying these frameworks to digital twins, I aim not to declare any single framework victorious but to show where different theories must extend, qualify, or recalibrate their core commitments when confronted with this kind of entity. The goal is to demonstrate how ontological inquiry can illuminate emerging technologies—including their normative and institutional dimensions—and how these technologies can, in turn, reinvigorate metaontological theory.

The integration of new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) into healthcare has initiated profound changes in clinical practice, reshaping not only clinical workflows but the relational structure of care itself. Among the most significant developments is the transformation of the traditional doctor–patient dyad into a doctor–patient–technology triad. Philosophical studies of technology, especially postphenomenological research, argue that technologies should not be understood as neutral tools but as mediators of perception and action. Building on this perspective, we argue that ethical evaluation must move beyond description toward a normative orientation for understanding how such mediation reshapes care relations. To this end, we draw on postphenomenological theory of technological mediation in relation to contemporary clinical practices and develop a normative evaluative framework grounded in patient wellbeing, understood as an emergent, relational quality of care. Rather than deriving evaluative categories from a single tradition, the framework integrates insights from quality-of-care scholarship and care-ethical perspectives, informed by relational accounts of clinical practice. It operationalizes this orientation across five domains (care quality, patient-centeredness, decision-making, access and communication, and care practices) understood as relational sites where technological mediation can enhance or compromise care. Using clinical decision support systems (CDSS) as an analytically demanding test case, we introduce the concept of the care optimizer as a descriptive-normative category identifying technologies that structure the conditions under which care unfolds. By anchoring evaluation in patient wellbeing and situating technological mediation within a normative horizon, the framework translates postphenomenological insights into ethically actionable guidance and aims to ensure that digital health innovations reinforce, rather than undermine, the moral commitments of medicine.

The rapid digitalization of healthcare—from telemedicine and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven diagnostics to wearable biosensors—has profoundly disrupted traditional norms of patient confidentiality. Classical privacy theories, anchored in physical co-presence and individual control, struggle to address the ethical challenges posed by opaque, persistent, and infrastructural data exposures in digital clinical environments. This study employs a theoretical-conceptual methodology to develop a multidimensional privacy framework responsive to the spatial and technological complexities of the digital clinic. Drawing from Edward T. Hall’s proxemics theory and the concept of cyberspace, we reinterpret interpersonal spatial zones (intimate, personal, social, public) in cyberspace. We introduce “cyberspatial privacy” as a transversal dimension that modulates privacy expectations across physical and digital layers. A hypothetical case—“Patient X,” a woman undergoing hybrid care—is used to demonstrate the framework’s practical utility in ethical analysis. The proposed framework reconceptualizes privacy as a dynamic continuum structured by both spatial proximity and digital mediation. By mapping risks across four proxemic zones and overlaying a cyberspatial dimension, the model reveals how privacy breaches differ not only in kind but in normative weight. For instance, biometric data collected by wearables (intimate zone) carries higher ethical risk than metadata exposed via public interfaces. The case of Patient X illustrates how classical theories fail to capture this gradient, while the new model enables zone-sensitive assessments of vulnerability, exposure, and trust. This framework advances the ethical understanding of privacy in digitally mediated healthcare by offering a granular, relational, and context-aware approach. It supports clinicians, designers, and policymakers in tailoring privacy safeguards to the spatial and digital contours of care. By reframing privacy as a condition of relational co-presence rather than isolated consent, this model promotes ethically robust design and governance in the era of cyber-augmented medicine.

Bu makale, çağdaş teknolojileri post-fenomenolojik bir bakış açısıyla inceleyerek, teknolojilerin tarafsız araçlar değil, insan deneyimini, algısını ve eylemini birlikte oluşturan aktif aracılar olduğunu savunmaktadır. Teknolojiye yönelik üç felsefi yaklaşımı (enstrümantalizm, determinizm ve teknolojik aracılık) özetledikten sonra, post-fenomenolojinin insan-teknoloji ilişkilerini dinamik, ilişkisel ve sürekli olarak birlikte şekillendiren bir yapı olarak nasıl yeniden kavramsallaştırdığını vurgulamaktadır. Ultrason görüntüleme, robotik cerrahi, sağlık izleme sistemleri, navigasyon cihazları ve sosyal medya platformları gibi örneklerle, teknolojilerin görme, hareket etme, sorumluluk ve sosyal etkileşim pratiklerini nasıl dönüştürdüğünü göstermektedir. Bu aracılıklar yalnızca bireysel deneyimleri değil, aynı zamanda kültürel normları, toplumsal yapıları ve değer oluşumlarını da etkilemektedir. Makale ayrıca değer hassas tasarımla da ilgilenerek, etik ve toplumsal değerleri dışsal ekler olarak ele almak yerine tasarım sürecine entegre etmenin gerekliliğini vurgulamaktadır. Sonuç olarak çalışma, teknolojilerin yaşam dünyasının ayrılmaz bileşenleri haline geldiğini ve anlam, eylem ve toplumsallık kalıplarını yeniden şekillendirdiğini savunmaktadır. Postfenomenoloji, bu nedenle teknolojiyi "bir araçtan daha fazlası" olarak anlamak için sağlam bir çerçeve sunarak, hem insan varoluşunu hem de toplumsal dünyayı şekillendirmedeki rolünü ortaya koyar.

While trust is foundational to the doctor-patient relationship, the introduction of AI into healthcare settings poses the risk of eroding this trust, and such erosion cannot be countered simply by appealing to the notion of “trustworthy AI.” We argue that trust presupposes specific epistemic attitudes that cannot be meaningfully applied to AI systems. Accordingly, our focus is not on specifying which capabilities AI must exhibit in order to appear trustworthy, but on examining from an epistemological perspective how the use of AI reshapes the dynamics of trust within the doctor-patient relationship. To this end, we first sketch conceptions of trust and demonstrate how trust differs from reliance. We then combine the model of Computational Reliabilism with an epistemic framework to develop a matrix for the ethical analysis of our use cases. Finally, we apply this framework to three scenarios of melanoma detection, risk prediction, and psychotherapy chatbots, which we construct by mapping epistemic stances across different modes of human-machine interaction, ranging from collaborative support with varying degrees of autonomy to the replacement of human-human interaction. We argue that the application of AI in the doctor-patient relationship exposes what we call a “reliability gap” — a conceptual space where the opaque nature of advanced AI systems prevents both doctors and patients from independently verifying their reliability. This creates a dynamic where reliability in the AI’s performance is increasingly mediated by the doctor as a proxy. Our use cases demonstrate that the more autonomous and opaque AI systems are, the more trust in the doctor becomes essential for bridging reliability gaps, while threatening to overburden the doctor’s central role.

The growing planetary poly-crisis—marked by climate change, ecological degradation, and planetary health inequities—necessitates a fundamental transformation in healthcare systems. This paper examines the historical progression of health systems from public health to planetary health, where human well-being is understood within the limits of planetary boundaries. Planetary health provides a framework for sustainable health systems that reduce disease burden, optimize care delivery, and decarbonize healthcare operations. Within this context, artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a transformative tool for addressing healthcare sustainability. AI applications offer significant potential to optimize resource use, improve preventive care, and enable circular economies in healthcare, thereby facilitating the transition toward planetary health. However, AI poses environmental challenges, including high energy consumption and resource-intensive development processes. To ensure its long-term viability, AI must align with sustainability principles by minimizing its ecological footprint while enhancing ecological integrity and social justice. This paper contributes to the literature in three key ways: (1) it briefly outlines the evolution of health systems toward planetary health, contextualizing the role of sustainability; (2) it presents emerging AI applications that support healthcare sustainability within the planetary health paradigm; and (3) it applies a structural–ethical approach—building on the work of Bolte and van Wynsberghe—to situate AI within the broader socio-technical, institutional, and ecological systems of healthcare, moving beyond second-wave AI ethics’ focus on isolated artifacts and design-level principles. By positioning AI as both a solution and a subject of scrutiny, this study advances the discourse on AI’s potential for planetary health while critically examining its alignment with long-term sustainability goals.

Cite as: Onder, O. (2025). Klinik Karar Destek Sistemleri Bağlamında Tıpta Yapay Zeka Kullanımında Etik Sorun Alanları (Publication No. 949041) [Doctoral dissertation, Istanbul University] YÖK Ulusal Tez Merkezi. The Ethical Aspects of Artificial Intelligence Use in Medicine within the Context of Clinical Decision Support Systems ABSTRACT The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) and health technologies in clinical practice will lead to significant transformations in the doctor-patient relationship. Accordingly, it is a critical necessity to investigate how this relationship will change with the integration of AI and health technologies in general, and Clinical Decision Support Systems (CDSS) in particular, and to identify, analyze, and evaluate the ethical issues arising from this transformation. In response to this need, the present study aims to examine the relationship between the doctor, patient, and CDSS, focusing on the asymmetries within this relationship and the ethical dimensions of the principle of responsibility in CDSS-involved decisions. With the integration of CDSS into the doctor-patient relationship, a triadic relationship involving the doctor, patient, and CDSS is expected to gain prominence. From an ethical standpoint, this change must adopt a human-centered approach and be oriented towards enhancing patient well-being. In this context, the study defends, within a normative framework, that CDSS in the triadic clinic should function as a "care-optimizer". The concept of care optimization is elaborated in five main categories: quality of care, patient-centered care, decision-making processes, access and communication, and care practices. Following this, power and epistemic asymmetries emerging in the triadic clinic are examined through an asymmetry analysis grounded in relationalism, and the normative implications of these asymmetries on physician responsibility are evaluated. By analyzing the inherent and contingent dimensions of power asymmetry, along with the categorical and gradual forms of epistemic asymmetry, the study explores their effects on responsibility distribution in the context of meaningful human control and explainability. The theoretical foundation of this study is grounded in the postphenomenological theory of technological mediation, which emphasizes that technologies are not neutral tools but mediators shaping human experience. As a result, the study proposes a normative framework for a healthcare system that prioritizes patient well-being and develops a relational approach to address the complexities of responsibility distribution within the triadic clinic. Key Words: Doctor-patient relationship, Artificial Intelligence Ethics, Clinical Decision Support Systems, responsibility, patient wellbeing ÖZET Yapay zekâ (YZ) ve sağlık teknolojilerinin klinik uygulamalarda artarak kullanılması, hasta-hekim ilişkisinde önemli dönüşümlere yol açacaktır. Bu doğrultuda, genelde YZ’nin ve teknolojilerin, özelde ise Klinik Karar Destek Sistemleri’nin (KKDS) kliniğe entegrasyonuyla, hasta-hekim ilişkisinin nasıl değişeceğinin incelenmesi ve bu değişiklikten neşet eden etik sorunların tespiti, analizi ve değerlendirilmesi önemli bir ihtiyaçtır. Bu ihtiyaca binaen araştırmada, hasta-hekim ve KKDS ilişkisi ile bu ilişkideki asimetrilerin ve KKDS ile alınan kararlarda sorumluluk ilkesinin etik boyutlarının incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. KKDS’nin hasta-hekim ilişkisine eklenmesiyle hasta-hekim-KKDS olmak üzere üçlü (triadik) bir ilişkinin ön plana çıkacağı söylenebilir. Etik açıdan konuya yaklaşıldığında bu değişiklik insanı merkeze almalı ve buna bağlı olarak hasta refahını arttırmaya yönelik olmalıdır. Bu bağlamda, araştırmada KKDS’nin hasta-hekim ilişkisinde hastanın değerler sistemine odaklanarak, onun tedavi ve bakım kalitesini iyileştirici olması gerektiği normatif bir çerçevede savunulmuştur. Tedavi ve bakım iyileştirme konsepti; bakım kalitesi, hasta odaklı bakım, karar verme süreçleri, erişim ve iletişim uygulamaları gibi kategorilerle detaylandırılmıştır. Ardından, ilişkiselcilik temelinde bir yaklaşım olarak sunulan asimetri analizi ile triadik klinikte ortaya çıkan güç asimetrisi ve epistemik asimetriler kapsamlı bir şekilde incelenmiş ve asimetrilerin hekimin sorumluluğu üzerindeki normatif etkileri değerlendirilmiştir. Güç asimetrisinin içkin ve olumsal boyutları ile epistemik asimetrilerin kategorik ve tedrici görünümleri analiz edilerek; bu asimetrilerin anlamlı insan kontrolü ve açıklanabilirlik bağlamında sorumluluk dağıtımına etkileri analiz edilmiştir. Tüm bu çalışmaların teorik genel çerçevesi olarak, postfenomenolojinin - teknolojilerin nötral araçlar olmadığı, aksine insan tecrübesini şekillendiren aracılar olduğunu savunan - teknolojik aracılık teorisi benimsenmiştir. Bu çalışmanın neticesinde hasta refahını ön planda tutan bir sağlık sistemi için normatif bir çerçeve sunulmuş ve sağlık hizmetlerinde sorumluluk dağıtımındaki karmaşıklıkları çözmeye yönelik ilişkisel bir yaklaşım geliştirilmiştir. Anahtar Kelimeler: Hasta-hekim ilişkisi, Yapay Zekâ Etiği, Klinik Karar Destek Sistemleri, sorumluluk, hasta refahı

Abstract Telemedicine, often referred to as e-health or telehealth, has evolved from early communication technologies to a key component of modern healthcare delivery. Recent advances, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, have transformed patient-physician interactions, introducing opportunities for remote care while challenging established clinical and ethical norms. This article examines the ethical implications of telemedicine within five key domains: reconstruction of the patient-physician relationship, privacy and confidentiality, patient autonomy, beneficence and non-maleficence, and justice in access to care. While telemedicine can improve accessibility and continuity of care, it raises concerns about reduced physical interaction, data security, and maintaining trust. Moreover, issues related to informed consent, digital literacy, and technological dependency highlight risks to autonomy and equity. The paper argues that these changes necessitate revisiting traditional ethical principles and adapting normative frameworks to ensure patient-centered care in an increasingly digital health ecosystem.

Genetics: Medical, Theological and Ethical Aspects Tibbi, Dini ve Etik Boyutlariyla Genetik Genetik bilimi biyolojinin botanik ve zooloji alanındaki uygulamalarını aşarak, sınırlarını önce antropolojiye sonra tıbba doğru hızla genişletmiştir. Öyle ki artık biyokimyadan onkolojiye kadar neredeyse tüm biyomedikal disiplinler, genetiğin kavramları, ilkeleri ve metodolojisi ile aşılanmıştır. Modern tıbbın uygulama alanında geniş bir yer tutan genetik bilimi, bir hastalığa dair risk analizi, teşhis ve tedavi seçeneklerinin belirlenmesi, prognozun değerlendirilmesi gibi klinik uygulamanın farklı evrelerinde söz sahibi olmaktadır. İçinde bulunduğumuz 21. yüzyılda ise bu etkileşim eskisinden daha da güçlü hale gelerek devam etmektedir. Genetik biliminin klinikteki etkilerinin kapsamlı bir şekilde değerlendirildiği bu kitap, tüm dünyada tıbbın seyrini değiştirecek gelişmelere zemin teşkil eden genetik disiplininin olumlu ve olumsuz etkileri hakkında okuyucuya yetkili ağızlardan bilgiler taşımayı ve daha net bir fikir oluşturmayı hedeflemektedir. Kitapta dört ana bölüm bulunmaktadır. İlk bölümde doğum öncesi genetik uygulamalara, ikinci bölümde doğum sonrası (çocuk ve erişkinde) genetik testlere, üçüncü bölümde tıbbi genetiğin sıcak tartışma konusu olan Spinal Müsküler Atrofi’ye (SMA) ve dördüncü bölümde ise genetik bilgiyi felsefi bakışla ele alan makalelere yer verilmiştir. Genetiğin tıp pratiğini değiştirici ve dönüştürücü etkisine multidisipliner bir yaklaşımla ışık tutmayı amaçlayan bu eserin genetik hakkındaki Türkçe literatüre katkıda bulunmasını ümit ediyoruz.

Amaç: Kanserle yaşayan bireylerin (KYB) bakımında, resmiyette görünür olmayan ve çoğunlukla herhangi bir profesyonel donanıma sahip olmayan, ama sürecin başından sonuna, hasta bireye eşlik eden bakım verenler kritik öneme sahiptir. Baş etmesi zor bir hastalık olan kanserle mücadele eden bireylerin bakımında, bakım verenler fiziksel, zihinsel ve sosyal birtakım zorluklarla karşılaşmaktadır. Bu araştırma, KYB’lere bakım veren, yakınlarının karşılaştıkları zorlukları gündeme getirmeyi ve ihtimam etiği perspektifinden, bakım verenlerin bakımına yönelik öneriler sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Gereç ve Yöntem: Bu araştırma tanımlayıcı ve kesitsel olup araştırmanın evreni Marmara Üniversitesi Pendik Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi (MÜPEAH) Onkoloji kliniğinde takip edilen, 15 Mart-5 Nisan tarihleri arasında kemoterapi ünitesine ve servis hizmetlerine başvuran KYB’lerin bakım veren yakınlarıdır. KYB’lere bakım verenlerin umutsuzluk derecelerini tespit etmek ve bunu etkileyen faktörleri ölçmek için, veri toplama aracı olarak; sosyodemografik sorular, bakım alan bireyin hastalık derecesine yönelik sorular ve Beck Umutsuzluk Ölçeği sorularından oluşan bir anket elden dağıtılmıştır. Anket bakım verene yönelik sosyodemografik sorular 8, KYB’nin hastalığının durumu ile ilgili sorular 7, Beck Umutsuzluk Ölçeği 20 olmak üzere 35 sorudan oluşmaktadır ve yaklaşık 10 dakikada tamamlanmaktadır. Elde edilen veriler önce Microsoft Excel aracılığıyla dijitalleştirilmiş, ardından IBM SPSS 27.0.1 sürümüyle analiz edilmiştir. Verilerin analizinde Ki-kare, Fisher’s Exact testi ve Pearson Korelasyon analizi kullanılmış, istatistiksel anlamlılık değeri için p<0.05 kabul edilmiştir. Bulgular: Ankete katılan 151 bakım verenin 83’ü (%55,3) kadın, 67’si (%44,7) erkektir. Katılımcıların yaş ortalaması 40,09’dur. Bakım verenlerin %41,1’i umutsuzluk düzeyi ölçeğinde “minimal ya da yok”, %39,7'si "hafif düzeyde", %13.2'si orta düzeyde ve %6’sı “aşırı düzeyde” skorunu almıştır. KYB’lere bakım verenlerin demografik özellikleri ile umutsuzluk düzeyi arasında anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmamıştır. Bakım verenlerin yaşı, cinsiyeti, medeni durumu, gelir durumu ve bakım verme süresi ile umutsuzluk skorları arasında anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmazken, eğitim seviyesi ile umutsuzluk skorları arasında anlamlı bir ilişki bulunmuştur. (p=0,019). Sonuç: Bakım verenlerin, umutsuzluk düzeyleri göz önüne alındığında, önemli psikolojik yükler taşıdığına ve bu yükün, özellikle bakım verenin eğitim seviyesi ile hastanın sağlık durumu arasında belirgin ilişkiler gösterdiğine ulaşılmıştır. Bu bilgiler ışığında, sosyodemografik özelliklerin bakım verenleri önemli ölçüde etkilediği görülmüştür. Bakım verenlerin duygusal yükleri, bakım alıcılarla olan ilişkileri ve bu sürecin hem bireysel hem toplumsal düzeyde getirdiği zorluklar ve sorumluluklar, ihtimam etiği kapsamında ele alınmıştır. Araştırma neticesinde bakım verenlerin karşılaştığı zorluklar ve ihtiyaçlarının daha geniş bir toplumsal ve etik perspektiften ele alınmasının gerekliliği ortaya konmuştur. Bakım verenlerin bakımına yönelik öneriler, duygusal destek; teorik eğitim ve bilgilendirme desteği; pratik ve uygulamalı destek; kaynak erişimi ve tahsisi; tanıma ve doğrulama başlıkları altında sunulmuştur.

Artificial intelligence (AI) research has historically followed a cyclical trajectory of optimism and skepticism, shaped largely by its interaction with market forces. From its conceptual foundations in the mid-20th century to contemporary breakthroughs in machine learning and deep learning, AI’s progress has been closely linked to economic expectations and funding availability. This dynamic relationship significantly impacts sectors such as healthcare, where digitalization efforts are accelerating. While healthcare was initially slow to adopt AI compared to finance or marketing, recent advances in data processing and the pressures of global health crises have positioned it as a critical domain for AI integration. However, rapid digitalization and commercialization introduce profound ethical challenges, including privacy breaches, algorithmic bias, accountability gaps, and threats to autonomy. Current regulatory frameworks and ethical guidelines, such as those issued by WHO and national AI strategies, offer important principles but often lack enforceable mechanisms. This article argues that a proactive approach—embedding ethical principles during design through “Ethics by Design”—is essential for sustainable and trustworthy AI in healthcare. By aligning technological development with human values from inception, this approach mitigates risks before they manifest, ensuring that AI-driven healthcare systems serve both innovation and societal well-being.

This chapter consists of two main sections; the first comprises the epistemological analysis regarding the source of knowledge used in clinics, knowledge representation and management, inference capacity and decision-making, and the second section discusses the ethical problems caused by the epistemological differences between CDSS-integrated clinics, and conventional clinics, and normative concepts such as moral responsibility, attribution of responsibility and distribution of responsibility are briefly examined. It has been argued that to understand and evaluate the ethical problems that arise in CDSS-integrated clinics, it is necessary to understand and clearly reveal the epistemological features and differences between the two types of clinical services.

Abstract The rapid emergence of cyberspace as a parallel domain to physical reality has introduced profound ethical challenges, reshaping traditional philosophical inquiries. Cyberethics, as a subfield of applied ethics, investigates moral principles, norms, and responsible behavior within digital environments shaped by information and communication technologies. This chapter provides a conceptual and philosophical framework for cyberethics, situating it within the broader discipline of ethics. It explores metaethical debates about the universality and objectivity of moral norms in cyberspace and examines normative approaches—including consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics—by highlighting how each framework addresses issues such as privacy, security, digital manipulation, and algorithmic bias. Beyond theory, the chapter discusses practical domains where ethical dilemmas manifest: data protection, cyberbullying, digital identity, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity. Special attention is given to design-oriented solutions, such as Ethics by Design and Value-Sensitive Design, as proactive strategies for embedding human values into technology development. By integrating classical ethical theories with emerging technological realities, this chapter argues for a reflective and adaptive ethical framework to guide individual actions, institutional policies, and global governance in cyberspace. Such an approach is crucial for ensuring fairness, autonomy, and justice in an increasingly digitalized society.

Türkiye hosts approximately 3.6 million Syrian refugees, which accounts for roughly 4.5% of Türkiye's population. This places undeniable pressure on public institutions, particularly on healthcare services. The objective of this study is to document the healthcare structure for Syrian refugees and various challenges faced by Syrians when seeking healthcare and to highlight the ethical concerns emerging from those challenges. To achieve this, we conducted a comprehensive review of several qualitative studies and reports conducted by various organizations and institutions, specifically focusing on health or including a dedicated chapter on health issues, published between 2011 and 2023. Following an extensive analysis of the secondary literature, we classified the challenges into three categories: procedural, cultural, and psychosocial. We argue that each of these challenges is linked to overarching medical ethics concerns. Finally, we propose three possible means to mitigate the challenges Syrians experience in accessing and uptake of healthcare services in Türkiye.

The world is facing a once-in-a-lifetime situation: the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, the World Health Organization announced an infodemic as well. This infodemic caused infollution and sparked many controversies. Pandemics as extraordinary occurrences are always attractive to historians. However, infodemics and biased information threaten objective history-writing. Objectivity as it regards historians is already a much-discussed subject. In this commentary, the fundamental theories about objectivity are delineated. Second, the relationship between the infodemic and COVID-19 pandemic is explained. Lastly, the problems regarding objectivity in the historiography of the COVID-19 pandemic are explored.

The sense of shame is part of human nature. What, then, is the role and significance of such a particular sensation, one that causes mental anxiety in a sick person’s weakest and the most vulnerable state? We know from historical documents going back as far as ancient Greece and Egypt that respecting patient privacy should be regarded as a moral duty for physicians in charge of treatment. However much today’s healthcare may have changed compared to centuries past, we note that patient privacy has not lost its importance. In the current healthcare system, digital recording of private information and images enables others, in principle, to access these personal data quite easily. While we cannot reject the advantages offered by modern medicine, we need to consider how to design a healthcare system that respects patient privacy. What should be the standards of privacy in emergency services where urgent decisions and interventions have to be made? How should we guarantee patient privacy during medical education? The chapters of this book approach questions like these from the perspectives of different disciplines. The writings illustrate the increasing complexity of patient privacy issues in modern healthcare systems, particularly the growing difficulty to protect confidential data. At the same time, we can observe that patients are becoming more aware of their rights and their sensitivity in this area has increased. In our opinion, an approach that requires us to choose between the two values –health and privacy – would be wrong. Therefore, the question we should focus on is: “what kind of healthcare system should be developed to ensure the greatest respect for humans’ natural right to privacy?” If we want to answer this question and find sustainable solutions for these problems, it is crucial to use a multidisciplinary approach. From this perspective, the present volume is a first contribution to be published in Turkey to pursue this aim, including articles offered from various disciplines.

During their educational life, medical students encounter several challenges, the origins and causes of which vary. This paper explores and attempts to scrutinize two of these challenges, before eventually introducing the concept of responsibility. First, this paper describes the general characteristics of medical schools, medical students, and medical education. Second, two different ethical challenges that medical students confront are then delineated: the anxiety of continuously questioning ‘while being trained, do I cause patients to receive suboptimal health care?’ and occasionally feeling obligated, consequently, to breach the ethical boundaries to practice procedures on patients. Finally, the faculty of responsibility and its components are introduced and discussed as a model that can overcome these ethical challenges.