ABSTRACT

Two moral norms have remained relatively constant across the various moral codes and oaths that have been formulated for health-care deliverers since the beginning of Western medicine in classical Greek civilization, namely beneficence — the provision of benefits — and nonmaleficence — the avoidance of doing harm. These norms are traced back to a body of writings from classical antiquity known as the Hippocratic Corpus. Although these writings are associated with the name of Hippocrates, the acknowledged founder of Western medicine, medical historians remain uncertain whether any, including the Hippocratic Oath, were actually his work. Although portions of the Corpus are believed to have been authored during the 6th century b.c., other portions are believed to have been written as late as the beginning of the Christian Era. Medical historians agree, though, that many of the specific moral directives of the Corpus represent neither the actual practices nor the moral ideals of the majority of physicians of ancient Greece and Rome.