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Development and Identity of Swiss Bioethics

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Book cover Bioethics and Moral Content: National Traditions of Health Care Morality

Part of the book series: Philosophy and Medicine ((ASBP,volume 74))

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Abstract

The discourse surrounding bioethical issues is characterized by its fundamentally contentious nature, which in turn reflects the divisions in Western contemporary moral culture. One source of discord lies in the content of morality and in the specific conditions necessary for the possibility of a generally justifiable moral discourse intelligible to all. The Enlightenment project, especially as it developed under Kant, sought to create such a context and attempted to justify a common moral language by rational arguments and analysis. It proved unable to provide the intellectual and rational tools for a single moral discourse able to justify the social structure of the West. As a result the fragmentation of Western moral identity reveals eclectic “rationalities” rather than an agreement about the content of the good life. New ways to confront the realities of moral existence have emerged, typically defined by a disbelief in traditional sources of morality (particular communities, religion, etc.) and by an appeal to procedural conventions (Engelhardt, 1996).

Every ethical system ... is ultimately a synthesis of intuitive and rational assertions, the proportions of each varying from culture to culture.

Kazumasa Hoshino

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

    Fabrice Jotterand

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  1. Fabrice Jotterand
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, USA

    H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. M.D., Ph.D. (Professor, Professor Emeritus) (Professor, Professor Emeritus)

  2. Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA

    H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr. M.D., Ph.D. (Professor, Professor Emeritus) (Professor, Professor Emeritus)

  3. Department of Philosophy, Rice University, Houston, Texas, Houston

    Lisa M. Rasmussen MA (Co-Managing Editor, Managing Editor) (Co-Managing Editor, Managing Editor)

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© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Jotterand, F. (2002). Development and Identity of Swiss 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_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0902-6_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5658-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-0902-6

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