Abstract
Global bioethics is an emerging concept. In 2005 the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights was passed by the acclamation of 193 states. In spite of that, some critics argue that ethical relativism is so deeply engrained it prevents the emergence of substantive universal norms, permitting only procedural approaches to shared norms. We question that conclusion. An examination of the notions of rights, duties and dignity in the major religious traditions suggests that there may be paths, through those concepts, to substantive normative convergence. If rights and duties are seen as a unitary thing then their ideological functions will not play such a prominent role in divisiveness among the traditions, but the unified concept(s) could encourage convergence towards norms acceptable to all traditions.
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Garcia, A., Lunstroth, J., Monlezun, D.J., Sotomayor, C.R. (2017). Convergence of Human Rights and Duties: Towards a Global Bioethics. In: Tham, J., Kwan, K., Garcia, A. (eds) Religious Perspectives on Bioethics and Human Rights. Advancing Global Bioethics, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58431-7_4
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