In doing this reading and listening to the podcast, I think one of the most interesting and important points made was the relationship between culture and the assumptions and/or beliefs we hold. Dr. Bezio describes in the podcast how the culture we belong to plays a significant role in the forming of our assumptions, and subsequent actions such as laws and policies that work to protect these assumptions. One example of this is the wearing of a hijab or other head and/or face coverings by women who are typically Islamic or another subset of a religion. As Dr. Bezio says, in the United States and many European countries, this wearing of the hijab and/or other facial coverings is uncommon because the cultures of these countries are largely rooted in and dominated by Christian beliefs; however, in many other parts of the world, these religious practices are seen as the norm, for Islam, instead of Christianity, serves as a base for the culture. Thus, culture strongly impacts the assumptions we hold and the actions we take, for in many Western countries, wearing a hijab and/or other covering is seen as outside the normal culture and odd, leading to assumptions such as that these women are being forced to wear these coverings and are being oppressed, and it is these assumptions that have led some countries to even ban the wearing of these covers, even though it is only seen as more restrictive or unnatural because of the culture.
Flanigan goes on to relate to this belief of the influence of culture on our assumptions, beliefs, and actions. In describing the doctrine of informed consent, Flanigan goes on to describe one of the justifications of the doctrine of informed consent, which is epistemic authority. Epistemic authority refers to the idea that “physicians ought to treat the whole patient, not just the condition”, and that individuals know best what their overall interests and well-being is (Flanigan 580). One example of the epistemic authority justification for DIC is Flanigan’s discussion of blood transfusions. In some religions, blood transfusion is not allowed, as it is seen as morally wrong; thus, in this situation, individuals of this religion know what is best for their interests, per their religion, and have the right to deny this medical treatment, even if it would help them, because of their beliefs. Like in the podcast, the culture of individuals helps to form their beliefs, such as this religious individual whose religion, and the culture associated with the religion, helped them to form the assumption that blood transfusions are wrong, even if they may be acceptable in other societies, and something they can deny. Our culture, oftentimes with its religious underlying, influence our making of assumptions, whether it be that hijabs are restrictive or that blood transfusion is unallowable, and causes us to take actions in accordance with these assumptions, such as ban the wearing of hijabs or refuse a blood transfusion, even if these actions appear unnatural or uncommon to others from different cultures.