[The "good doctor". Physicians' morality and the self-conception of medicine since the early modern period].

The article examines the historical change in medical ethics since the beginning of the early modern period, drawing on normative sources, mostly of German origin. The theoretical frame of reference is provided by historical moral sociology and the history of the modernisation, as expounded in Niklas Luhmann's system theory. In a first step, evidence for the change in the moral codes of the various social systems (science, economy etc.) of the early modern period is assembled (1) in order to approach the question, taking the medieval medical doctrines of salvation as a starting point (2), whether structurally analogous processes of change can be made out in the medical system. These are identified in the removal of a moral evaluation of disease and in the moral neutralization of doctors' behaviour which is reflected in the spread of medical happiness doctrines (3). Following an interim reflection on moral theory (4), the enforcement of a modern behavioural code in 19th-century medical deontology is outlined, which was based on moral restraint (5) and the specific professional identity of the doctor (6). A summary of the results leads to a concluding outlook on current trends in medical ethics discourse (7).