The Ethics of Consent

We borrow and lend possessions, sign up to social networking sites, agree to sexual advances, and undergo medical proceduresâ"all by giving consent. With valid consent, these actions can be made permissible; without it our rights would be violated, making consent one of the most ethically fraught and controversial topics.

The Ethics of Consent is a clear and much-needed introduction to this fundamental topic. In the first half of the book, the authors examine the conceptual and theoretical questions surrounding consent, providing an accessible overview of concepts such as validity, competence, coercion, manipulation, and deception. In the latter chapters they examine the following applied topics:

• Medicine
• Clinical research
• Personal data
• Sex Offers and invitations
• Government mandates.

Important and controversial subjects and case studies are included, including consent and surrogate decision-making in healthcare and questions about manipulation; coercion and clinical trials; the scope of consent around data and disclosure; consent to sex and deception and #MeToo; and the controversial debates surrounding consent and compulsory vaccination and prostitution and polygamy.

An excellent starting point for anyone studying the ethics of consent, this book is valuable reading for those in philosophy, applied ethics and philosophy of law, as well as related disciplines such as medicine, public policy and gender studies.