Modeling Hypothetical Consent

Arguments based on hypothetical consent are widely used in legal, political, and moral philosophy. The notion of hypothetical consent has been important to political philosophy at least from the 17th century, when the first classical forms of contractarian political theories were formulated. In bioethics, especially in literature concerning medical paternalism, arguments based on hypothetical consent have drawn much attention. In recent years, these arguments have become popular in legal theory as well. In fact, one finds these arguments not only in law review articles but in actual court opinions.

Volume 17, Number 3 (2003)