Competency : Springer : 9789401056038 : 940105603X : 22 Sep 2012 : Some conferences produce proceedings, others an inspiration to labor, which finally leads to a published work. Such has been the case with regard to this volume. In 1984, the Center for Ethics, Medicine, and Public Issues held a conference with the title 'When are Competent Patients Incompetent?' with the support of the Texas Committee for the Humanities, a state-based program of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Assistance was provided by both Baylor College of Medicine and the Institute of Religion. This conference evoked a con­ siderable interest in examining further the moral status of competency determinations in the clinical setting. This interest is realized in this volume, which now affords us an opportunity to thank all those individ­ uals who made the conference possible, only some of whom are acknowledged in this Preface. In particular, we wish to express our gratitude to Baruch A. Brody, Rebecca Dre