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Medical Humanities 2000;26:43-48; doi:10.1136/mh.26.1.43
Copyright © 2000 by the BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & Institute of Medical Ethics.
Journal of Medical Ethics 26:43-48 (2000)
© 2000 BMJ Publishing Group

Changes to bodily appearance: the aesthetics of deliberate intervention

Søren Holm

University of Manchester, Manchester

Aesthetic plastic surgery is a branch of medicine using surgical techniques to alter the appearance of patients. In this paper it is considered whether aesthetic plastic surgery should be viewed as an art form. The question is answered by trying to see how aesthetic plastic surgery fits a number of classical concepts in philosophical aesthetics, concepts such as "artist" and "work of art". Further to elucidate the status of aesthetic plastic surgery, it is compared with competitive bodybuilding, another technique for changing appearance.

Key Words: Aesthetic plastic surgery • bodybuilding • philosophical aesthetics


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Evans, H M, Greaves, D A (2003). Looking for emerging themes in medical humanities--some invitations to our readers. Med. Humanities 29: 1-3 [Full Text]  

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