Bioethics in a pluralistic society: bioethical methodology in lieu of moral diversity

Abstract

In an attempt to promote in-depth dialogue amongst bioethicists coming from distinct disciplinary and religious backgrounds this essay offers a critical analysis of a number of the leading methods of addressing pluralism in bioethics and. Exploring the critiques and methodological proposals coming from the social sciences, the contract theorists, and the pragmatists, this study describes the problems which arise when confronting moral diversity in a bioethical context and examines the ability of these various methodologies to adequately resolve these matters. Finally, the foundations of a new conceptual framework for bioethical methodology will be developed. It will be argued that these new methodological insights are able to overcome the problems facing other methodologies and may provide a viable means for adequately addressing issues of pluralism in bioethics.

Recognizing bioethical issues and ethical qualification in nursing students and faculty in South Korea

“…Bioethical issues tend to occur when practitioners adhere to unique cultural beliefs, traditions, and moral decision-making, as well as conventional ethical decision-making processes. 5 This implies that an understanding Korea's culture is imperative when raising and addressing bioethical issues. Population control policies initiated in in Korea in 1962, were implemented to ensure that families had no more than two children, using abortion and family planning programs at the government level; these measures are now severely restricted.…”

“…That is, the development of innovative medical skills such as cloning, fetal discrimination, and artificial insemination have improved the overall quality of life, but yet possess an ambivalence, in which such skills can be construed as 'infanticide' when the principles of bioethics are not understood or adhered to. [4][5][6] Bioethical issues in nursing are immediate problems that require ethical judgments to be made, such as do not resuscitate (DNR) orders. 7 In such urgent situations, nursing students need to maintain human dignity and high levels of ethical knowledge.…”

Disciplining Bioethics: Towards a Standard of Methodological Rigor in Bioethics Research

“…Others, especially more recently, have suggested that bioethics cannot be placed within the traditional framework of disciplines, instead considering it multidisciplinary ( Bennett and Cribb, 2003 ; Sugarman and Sulmasy, 2010 ; Coggon, 2011 ), interdisciplinary ( de Wachter, 1982 ; Silber, 1982 ; Green, 1990 ; Árnason, 2005 ; Iltis, 2006 ; Jonsen, 2007 ; Azevêdo, 2007 ; Brody, 2009 ; de Lange, 2009 ; Master, 2011 ), or transdisciplinary ( Jonsen, 2004 ). Others, still, more cautiously refer to bioethics simply as a field ( Beauchamp, 2003 ; Belkin, 2004 ; Faden, 2004 ; Wolf and Kahn, 2005 ; Dunn et al, 2008 ; Durante, 2009 ).…”

Integral Palliative Care – Ein Widerspruch in sich?

“…Leitprinzip ist eher die Ach− tung vor der Menschenwürde ± in Deutschland verstanden im Kantischen Sinne ±, die mit einem rigorosen Tötungsverbot ein− hergeht. Rigorose Prinzipienethik jedoch kann nicht jede indivi− duelle Meinung bedienen, sondern bedarf der Anerkennung ih− rer Universalisierbarkeit, was in pluralistischen Gesellschaften nicht unproblematisch ist[19,20]. Grundverständnis von Thera− pie stellt das Töten eines Menschen jedoch keine therapeutische Option dar, sondern eher eine bewusste Grenzüberschreitung in Ausnahmesituationen, die häufig von einer besonderen Bezie− hung zum Patienten oder von Hilflosigkeit des ¹Helfers" geprägt sind.…”