IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jchals/v10y2019i1p12-d199968.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

(Bio)Ethics in a Pluralistic Society

Author

Listed:
  • Ben Gray

    (Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, Otago University, Wellington 6242, New Zealand)

Abstract

Traditional (bio) ethics relies to a large degree on the analysis of problems to determine the right course of action. In particular, in medicine, a dominant text declares that there is a “Common Morality” that applies to all people. This paper will argue that ethics is culture bound and that, in a pluralistic society, a common morality approach to the resolution of problems has significant limitations. I will argue that more attention needs to be paid to the process of agreeing to a way forward given that there is disagreement. I will illustrate how this applies not only at the clinical level but also at the level of national and international politics. A theoretical understanding of compromise and a look at ways of describing the way people make ethical decisions as opposed to seeking an ideal ethical code is presented as a way in which we can manage problems better in a pluralistic society.

Suggested Citation

  • Ben Gray, 2019. "(Bio)Ethics in a Pluralistic Society," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jchals:v:10:y:2019:i:1:p:12-:d:199968
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/10/1/12/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2078-1547/10/1/12/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan, 2017. "Down to Earth: Planetary Health and Biophilosophy in the Symbiocene Epoch," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-22, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jake M. Robinson & Martin F. Breed, 2019. "Green Prescriptions and Their Co-Benefits: Integrative Strategies for Public and Environmental Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan, 2018. "A New Reality: Human Evolution for a Sustainable Future. By Jonas Salk, MD, and Jonathan Salk, MD. City Point Press: Stratford, CT, USA, 2018; 256pp.; ISBN: 978-1-947951-04-4," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-3, July.
    3. Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan & David L. Katz, 2019. "Preventive Medicine for Person, Place, and Planet: Revisiting the Concept of High-Level Wellness in the Planetary Health Paradigm," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Alan C. Logan & Susan H. Berman & Brian M. Berman & Susan L. Prescott, 2020. "Project Earthrise: Inspiring Creativity, Kindness and Imagination in Planetary Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-23, September.
    5. Susan L. Prescott & Trevor Hancock & Jeffrey Bland & Matilda van den Bosch & Janet K. Jansson & Christine C. Johnson & Michelle Kondo & David Katz & Remco Kort & Anita Kozyrskyj & Alan C. Logan & Chri, 2019. "Eighth Annual Conference of inVIVO Planetary Health: From Challenges to Opportunities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-62, November.
    6. Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan, 2019. "Narrative Medicine Meets Planetary Health: Mindsets Matter in the Anthropocene," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-26, February.
    7. Jake M. Robinson & Jacob G. Mills & Martin F. Breed, 2018. "Walking Ecosystems in Microbiome-Inspired Green Infrastructure: An Ecological Perspective on Enhancing Personal and Planetary Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, November.
    8. Jonathan D. Salk, 2019. "Planetary Health: A New Reality," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-7, January.
    9. Hannes Kettner & Sam Gandy & Eline C. H. M. Haijen & Robin L. Carhart-Harris, 2019. "From Egoism to Ecoism: Psychedelics Increase Nature Relatedness in a State-Mediated and Context-Dependent Manner," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-23, December.
    10. Alan C. Logan & Susan L. Prescott, 2017. "Astrofood, Priorities and Pandemics: Reflections of an Ultra-Processed Breakfast Program and Contemporary Dysbiotic Drift," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-24, September.
    11. John Zelenski & Sara Warber & Jake M. Robinson & Alan C. Logan & Susan L. Prescott, 2023. "Nature Connection: Providing a Pathway from Personal to Planetary Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-23, March.
    12. Susan L. Prescott & Jeffrey S. Bland, 2020. "Spaceship Earth Revisited: The Co-Benefits of Overcoming Biological Extinction of Experience at the Level of Person, Place and Planet," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-20, February.
    13. Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan, 2018. "Larger Than Life: Injecting Hope into the Planetary Health Paradigm," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-27, March.
    14. Susan L. Prescott & Jeffrey M. Greeson & Mona S. El-Sherbini & The Planetary Health Community Convened by the Nova Institute for Health, 2022. "No Health without Mental Health: Taking Action to Heal a World in Distress—With People, Places, and Planet ‘in Mind’," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, August.
    15. Palmiro Poltronieri, 2018. "Challenges in the Healthcare Systems and Formative Needs of Family Doctors," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-3, August.
    16. Susan L. Prescott, 2021. "The Vision of Challenges , a Unique Journal in an Era of Planetary Health Challenges," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-4, May.
    17. Jennifer Cole & Adam Eskdale & Jonathan D. Paul, 2022. "Tackling AMR: A Call for a(n Even) More Integrated and Transdisciplinary Approach between Planetary Health and Earth Scientists," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-11, December.
    18. David H. Nelson & Susan L. Prescott & Alan C. Logan & Jeffrey S. Bland, 2019. "Clinical Ecology—Transforming 21st-Century Medicine with Planetary Health in Mind," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, February.
    19. Susan L. Prescott, 2023. "Lost Connections: Why the Growing Crisis of Loneliness Matters for Planetary Health," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-7, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jchals:v:10:y:2019:i:1:p:12-:d:199968. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.