Eric Cassell

Eric Jonathan Cassell (August 29, 1928 – September 24, 2021) was an American physician and bioethicist.

Early life and education

Eric Jonathan Goldstein was born on August 29, 1928, in New York City.[1] He and his brother changed their surname to Cassell to render it closer to their grandfather's name, which was changed at Ellis Island.[1] He received a BS from Queens College, City University of New York, in 1950, an MA from Columbia University, also in 1950, and an MD from New York University School of Medicine in 1954.[1][2]

Career

Cassell taught at Cornell University Medical College and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and practiced at French Hospital and New York Hospital.[3] He was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine in 1982.[4]

According to a 2019 critical review of Cassell's work, his views on the nature of suffering were "close to canonical" in the medical community.[5] Cassell advanced a subjective view of suffering, according to which the condition must be understood by reference to the beliefs and perceptions of the person experiencing it.[5]

In 2001, Cassell published a study in Annals of Internal Medicine that assessed the decision-making capacity of severely ill adults, finding that their decision-making abilities were similar to those of children under 10. Commenting on his findings, Cassell stated, "I think it's grossly unfair and I actually think it's an abuse of a patient to put someone in a position to make decisions when they don't have the capacity to make them."[6]

Cassell died on September 24, 2021, in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.[1]

Books
  • Cassell, Eric J. (1976). The Healer's Art: A New Approach to the Doctor-Patient Relationship. Philadelphia: Lippincott. ISBN 0-397-01098-2. OCLC 1958247.[7]
  • Cassell, Eric J. (July 24, 1997). Doctoring: The Nature of Primary Care Medicine. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195113235.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-511323-5.[8]
  • Cassell, Eric J. (April 8, 2004) [1991]. The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156164.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-515616-4.[9]
  • Cassell, Eric J. (December 5, 2012). The Nature of Healing: The Modern Practice of Medicine. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195369052.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-536905-2.[10]

Further reading

References
  1. Roberts, Sam (October 14, 2021). "Dr. Eric Cassell, Bioethicist Who Put the Patient First, Dies at 93". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  2. Nemeh, Katherine H., ed. (2007). American Men and Women of Science (23d ed.). Thomson Gale. p. 102. ISBN 978-1-4144-0974-0. ISSN 0000-1287. OCLC 77517165. Gale K3099017807.
  3. "Cassell, Eric J." Writers Directory. 2005. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  4. "Eric J. Cassell, M.D." National Academy of Medicine. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  5. Tate, Tyler; Pearlman, Robert (2019). "What We Mean When We Talk About Suffering—and Why Eric Cassell Should Not Have the Last Word". Perspectives in Biology and Medicine. 62 (1): 95–110. doi:10.1353/pbm.2019.0005. ISSN 1529-8795. PMID 31031299. S2CID 139104047.
  6. Tarkan, Laurie (October 2, 2001). "Debating Patients' Capacity to Decide". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  7. Reviews of The Healer's Art:
  8. Reviews of Doctoring:
  9. Reviews of The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Medicine:
  10. Reviews of The Nature of Healing:
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