Question

What is the role of metaphor in autonomy. Specifically how do you think metaphors might impare or strengthen our ability to make autonomous choices?

Answer 1

Metaphors are the words or phrases used to describe something in a different way stating as something else.It may give two meanings in one phrase, it cannot be decided as this is a positive statement or negative statement but was described in another way.

E.g. Life is a roller coaster. Here we cannot define whether the life is really a roller coaster.This actually may mean the ups and downs of the life described in such a way.

Every health care provider has the responsibility of respecting patient autonomy especially their ability of making decisions or self choices.Metaphors helps to build the relation between health care professionals and patients which makes them to understand the situations and helps to take autonomic decisions in terms of treatment.

• Metaphors always strengthens the ideas and beliefs
• Metaphors provides good encouragement for taking choices in treatment
• Metaphors helps to take wise decisions.
• An example about cancer treatment " Cancer treatment in severe stages actually makes person to drown down, weakens immune system and which is of no use during end stages", But always patients choices must be respected.So Metaphors helps in these scenarios to take health decisions respecting patient autonomy.