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Vulnerability: Considerations on the Appropriate Use of the Term in Bioethics

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Book cover Religious Perspectives on Human Vulnerability in Bioethics

Part of the book series: Advancing Global Bioethics ((AGBIO,volume 2))

Abstract

This paper poses a question on the use of the term “vulnerability.” Is this polysemous word often abused today? Is it an analogical term? Or does it have only one meaning?

The expression “vulnerable groups” is mentioned and used in many fields, often in reference to human rights. It is used particularly in situations of economic marginality, in terms of sexual preference, or most commonly, when referring to women. The term is also used when seeking to protect the terminally ill, subjects of clinical trials, or human embryos. It is, therefore, worth examining the use of this term in different areas. In this paper the author intends to reveal the existence of certain abuses in the use of this term.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Polysemy (from Greek, poli-, many, and σῆμα, meanings) is present when the same word has many meanings.

  2. 2.

    Note that the definition adds an additional component: the notion of damage or harm. It is clear that the expression does not have the sense of “I am vulnerable to winning the lottery,” or “She is vulnerable to being healthy,” etc.

  3. 3.

    Here we mean true human liberation. Man always perceives himself as a contingent being who yearns for the Absolute. Good and Being refer to the same reality. From here is the link between being as perfection and as action.

  4. 4.

    Fragile is defined in many dictionaries as a synonym of weak, inconsistent, slack, feeble, and delicate. Its antonyms are consistent, strong, and solid.

  5. 5.

    The Spanish verb ser indicates to be in a permanent state, while estar means a changeable state. Still there can be many exceptions.

  6. 6.

    This idea is, however, contrary to dualistic anthropology. See Singer 1994; Grisez 1977.

  7. 7.

    “The question of corporeality is also decisive in ethical theories in general… Everything changes in ethics, insofar as the person is—based on Kant—considered a free and responsible moral agent… With this perspective, having more freedom, dominating nature, is not only good but is even the ideal of excellence. Derechos de las Mujeres, Normativa, Interpretaciones y Jurisprudencia Internacional. Secretaria de Relaciones Exteriores. Oficina en México del Alto Comisionado de las naciones Unidas para los Derechos Humanos (2006). UNIFEM, p. 220.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Bioethics, Anáhuac University, Mexico City, Mexico

    Prof. Martha Tarasco Michel

Authors
  1. Prof. Martha Tarasco Michel
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Correspondence to Martha Tarasco Michel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, School of Bioethics, Rome, Italy

    Joseph Tham

  2. Ateneo Pontificio Regina Apostolorum, School of Bioethics, Rome, Italy

    Alberto Garcia

  3. UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, Rome, Italy

    Gonzalo Miranda

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Tarasco Michel, M. (2014). Vulnerability: Considerations on the Appropriate Use of the Term in Bioethics. In: Tham, J., Garcia, A., Miranda, G. (eds) Religious Perspectives on Human Vulnerability in Bioethics. Advancing Global Bioethics, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8736-9_4

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