Abstract
In both national and international bioethics there is a distortion of the nature and scope of our bioethics conversation. This distortion impedes the fruitfulness of initial discussions and efforts to build international bioethics consensus. As I will argue, the distortion lies in the assumption about the nature of human persons that affects so much of our thinking. In this essay in honor of Dr. Hoshino, I want to explore the impediments to and make some recommendations for international moral discourse. This will be done first by examining American bioethics discourse, then international critiques of our discourse, some characteristics of Japanese culture that can assist the international bioethics discussion, and finally, some recommendations.
“In my book, if you’re going to touch someone, you must only do it with intent to heal.”
— Tim Cardigan, S.J. (Nalty, 1994, p. 49).
“Men are free when they belong to a living, organic, believing community, active in fulfilling some unfulfilled, perhaps unrealized purpose.”
— D. H. Lawrence (Rorty, 1995, p. 86).
“Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.”
— Marley’s Ghost to Scrooge (Irving, 1990, p. 238).
The Editors, with great sorrow, note the passing of a friend, colleague, and contributor to this volume. David Thomasma died in April, 2002.
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Thomasma, D.C. (2002). The Challenge of Doing International Bioethics. In: Engelhardt, H.T., Rasmussen, L.M. (eds) Bioethics and Moral Content: National Traditions of Health Care Morality. Philosophy and Medicine, vol 74. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0902-6_12
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