Thursday, January 26, 2017

Culture and Religion on Bioethics.

The field of bioethics continues to struggle with the problem of cultural diversity, cultural relativism and ethical relativism: can universal principles guide ethical decision making, regardless of the culture in which those decisions take place? Or should bioethical principles be derived from the moral traditions of local cultures? These questions are inevitable when diverse cultures and moral traditions share a common world, but they are barely considered and poorly addressed when Western bioethics travels abroad. We all agree with the influence of culture and religion on ethics. Each culture has such a unique form of society. Indeed, each culture has its unique ethical principles. We challenge the premises of moral universal-ism, showing how this approach imports and imposes moral notions of Western society and leads to harm in non-western cultures. Therefore, we cannot use universal principles guide ethical decision making regardless of the culture in which those decisions take place. As what Campbell asked "Should we suppose that each of us is trapped in our own culture and belief system, so that there is no possibility of a shared human morality? This case is called ethical relativism. I think this is one of the main theory that relates to the bioethics. Even if there are some serious problems with it. I also agree with Campbell about cultural influences seems better to talk about, but not to accept that they are so utterly determinative of it that there is no point in seeking universal human values. Last point I would like to share with you is about "moral absolutism". Moral Absolutism is the ethical belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, regardless of the context of the act. I think moral absolutism doesn't even exist. 

M.Ghaly

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