This paper asks how bioethics navigates, and should navigate, value pluralism in the increasingly global spaces in which bioethics operates. We juxtapose the ethical approaches suggested by East Asian societies, drawing primarily on Confucian ethics, with approaches more prevalent in Western societies, especially North America and Western Europe. Drawing on the Confucian virtue of () (ritual propriety and decorum), we argue for greater tolerance, respect, epistemic justice, cultural humility and civility. We show how to translate these values into practice using the examples of international bioethics policies governing abortion practice, artificial intelligence governance and climate change. The 'Introduction' section raises the question of how to engage in bioethics across borders. The section, 'Leading Views of Bioethics are WEIRD' explores how the field of bioethics currently navigates value pluralism. It characterises leading bioethics approaches as WEIRD-Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic. The section, 'East Asian and Western Views of Personhood' illustrates WEIRD approaches, juxtaposing Eastern and Western accounts of personhood in three cases: social robots, prenatal human life, and nature. The section, 'Epistemic Justice and Value Pluralism' argues that bioethics' WEIRDness violates epistemic justice by assigning excess credibility to the West while deflating the credibility of the East. We propose a pluriversal alternative and apply it to bioethics practice by drawing on the Confucian virtue of The paper concludes that bioethicists should embrace a pluriversal approach to global value diversity.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jme-2024-110480 | DOI Listing |
J Med Ethics
March 2025
Centre for Bioethics, Chinese University of Hong Kong Faculty of Medicine, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
This paper asks how bioethics navigates, and should navigate, value pluralism in the increasingly global spaces in which bioethics operates. We juxtapose the ethical approaches suggested by East Asian societies, drawing primarily on Confucian ethics, with approaches more prevalent in Western societies, especially North America and Western Europe. Drawing on the Confucian virtue of () (ritual propriety and decorum), we argue for greater tolerance, respect, epistemic justice, cultural humility and civility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Med Philos
July 2024
City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, PRC.
This article examines the cross-cultural bioethical concerns stemming from the potential use of CRISPR-Cas9 for genetic enhancement projects. It emphasizes the need to differentiate between basic and non-basic human rights when considering genetic enhancement, as recent international declarations lack this distinction. Basic rights possess a universal nature and are applicable across cultures, while non-basic rights are culturally specific and should be determined within respective regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPers Soc Psychol Bull
December 2023
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
Relationship research in the dominant psychological science portrays the prioritization of conjugal over consanguine relationships as a healthy standard. We argue that this "standard" pattern is only evident in cultural ecologies of independence. Drawing on the Confucian concept of filial piety, we conducted five studies and two mini meta-analyses to normalize the prioritization of mother over spouse.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Relig Health
December 2024
Department of Nursing Management and Social Work, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russian Federation.
This study examines the connection between health and religious beliefs in modern Chinese society and builds a model reimagining the conception of health. The study draws on interviews with 108 patients (52 were women and 56 were men) at Huashan Hospital (Shanghai City, China). The survey ran between May 10 and May 14, 2021.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Affect Disord
March 2023
Department of Sociology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China. Electronic address:
Understanding the risk and protective factors that influence the trajectory of depressive symptoms may help schools better support students in adolescence. The present study used a multilevel framework to examine the effects of adolescent perceptions of financial strain, academic strain, and class climate on their depressive symptoms in the context of Confucian collectivism and an exam-centered culture. The study also investigated the multi-level moderating effects of students' perceptions of class climate and gender on the association between perceptions of strains and depressive symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!