Bioethics and Anthropology

Concepts

The term bioethics was first coined by the biologist Van Rensselaer Potter in his book Bioethics, Science of Survival (1970). The term is taken from two Greek words: bios, the Greek word for “life,” and ethics, which has its roots in the noun ethos, meaning “custom.” Van Rensselaer used it for ethical questions concerning survival and quality of life. This terminology never became widely established. Instead, bioethics is sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to the whole terrain of moral problems of the life sciences encompassing not only medical ethics but also important aspects of environmental ethics. Mostly, however, bioethics refers to old and new ethical questions arising in the field of medicine and medicine-linked biotechnology. It is bioethics in this latter sense that the present article takes as a conceptual basis.

The term anthropology is taken from two Greek words: anthropos and logos, which can be translated as “human being” and “word,” respectively. As a combined word, it can be understood as the rational inquiry into the human being. Nowadays, there are further subdisciplines of anthropology as a science. [Page 357]Biological anthropology deals with questions such as evolution, modern human populations, and human biodiversity. Archeology, in a certain way, is a link between biological anthropology and cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropology, which in Europe is often labeled social anthropology or ethnology, aims at studying different cultures. Questions of whether different cultures follow different bioethical standards and whether or not we should accept a bioethical relativism are part of the more comprehensive topic, ethics and anthropology. Philosophical anthropology deals with questions such as the mind-body problem and the difference between human beings and non-human beings. These questions are also addressed in theological anthropology with the important adjunct of mankind created by God.

The Importance of an Exchange between the Different Anthropologies and Bioethics

It is of great importance that bioethics is in touch with the results of the different anthropologies. Philosophical and theological anthropologies have an impact on the bioethical framework, especially the questions of whether human beings are special beings(the question of human dignity and human autonomy) not allowed to be killed (sacredness of life). Biological anthropology is of great importance for ethical questions concerning the beginning and the end of life, which are central in contemporary bioethical debate. It is not possible to answer the question of whether harvest of human embryonic stem cells should be allowed without knowing the current state of the art of embryology. Social and cultural anthropology help us to understand how new possibilities in reproductive medicine are going to change the traditional concepts of mother, father, and children and raise the question of which kind of society we desire. Reflections on organ transplantation have to take into account the different cultures and different ways of reflecting the transition from life to death and the different forms of family structures. Anthropologists, therefore, play an important role in broadening the bioethical reflection.

On the other hand, ethical reflections also have an impact on the different anthropologies, for example, the prohibition of killing human beings, the declaration of human rights, and the importance of human autonomy.

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