Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the (Im)Possibility of Global Bioethics

ISBN-13: 9789048159697 / Angielski / Miękka / 2010 / 408 str.

J. Tao Lai Po-Wah

Opis

This collection of papers explores one of the central debates in the field of bioethics in the new century. It evaluates the controversy between the claim that there is a common morality accepted by all and the opposing view that there are different moral visions and moral rationalities, within which complex bioethical issues demand a solution.
Contributions within this volume offer different approaches and perspectives on the pursuit of global ethics in the new century. They are organized under five major themes. The first theme explores the different plausible understandings of the foundations of bioethics and contemporary reflections on the nature and role of moral theory. The second theme analyses the impact of moral loss and moral diversity on the character of bioethics and the search for alternative perspectives in post-traditional and post-modern societies. The third theme examines a number of theoretical issues raised by concrete examples of bioethnological applications, which bear importantly on contemporary debates between the possibility and impossibility of global bioethics. The fourth theme discusses examples of moral conflicts and dilemmas in everyday health care practice regarding the permissible treatment of humans by humans under different ethical perspectives and cultural traditions. The fifth theme explores alternative suggestions for opening up new modes of self-understanding and new strategies for bioethical exploration in the new century.
The volume is an important work of reference for philosophers, moral theologians, ethicists, counsellors, doctors, nurses, sociologists, journalists, health care professionals, public policy makers and everyone who is interested in the profound ethical issues arising from modern technological advancements which are not only transforming our lives but are also demanding urgent ethical decision-making and pragmatic' solutions from a cross-cultural perspective.

Spis treści

Preface. Acknowledgements. Global Bioethics, Global Dialogue: Introduction; J.T.L. Po-Wah. Morality, Universality, and Particularity: Rethinking the Role of Community in the Foundations of Bioethics; H.T. Engelhardt, Jr. Part I: Community and Care: Lost Perspectives? Is Just Caring Possible? Challenge to Bioethics in the New Century; J.T.L. Po-Wah. Living and Dying in a Post-traditional World; Fr.T. Joseph. Part II: The (Im)Possibility of Global Bioethics. The Tension between Biomedical Technology and Confucian Values; R.-Z. Qiu. Relational Paradigm in Bioethics; H. Xinhe. The Ethics of Prenatal Screening and the Search for Global Bioethics; G.K. Becker. Genetic Engineering and Social Justice: Towards a Global Bioethics? I. Holliday. Global Biomedicine, Human Dignity, and the Moral Justification of Political Power; C. Delkeskamp-Hayes. The Reappraisal of the Foundations of Bioethics: A Confucian Perspective; L.S. Chuen. Part III: Moral Dilemmas in Health Care. Self-ownership and its Implications for Bioethics; Y.K. Por. Health Inequalities and Justice; S. Marchand, D. Wikler. Managing Medical Information: The Moral Dilemmas in Postmodern Societies; C.H. Mun, A. Fung. Stabilizing or Changing Identity? The Ethical Problem of Sex Reassignment Surgery as a Conflict among the Individual, Community, and Society; K.W. Schmidt. Homosexuality and the Use of the Reproductive Technology; S. Man-Hung Sze. The Domain of Parental Discretion in Treatment of Neonates: Beyond the Impasse Between a Sanctity-of-Life and Quality-of-Life Ethic; G. Khushf. Ethics and Narrative in Evidence Based Medicine; D.K.S. Au. Part IV: New Strategies, New Possibilities. Local Bioethical Discourse: Implications for Understanding Disease; M.A.G. Cutter. Bioethics and Philosophy of Bioethics: A New Orientation; C.-Y. Cheng. A New Possibility of Global Bioethics as an Intercultural Social Tuning Technology; H.A. Sakamoto. Moral Theories vs. Moral Perspectives: The Need for a New Strategy for Bioethical Exploration; R. Fan. Notes on Editor and Contributors. Index.