At the Foundations of Bioethics and Biopolitics: Critical Essays on the Thought of H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr. (eBook)

Lisa M. Rasmussen, Ana Iltis, Mark J. Cherry (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2015 | 2015
XXIII, 284 Seiten
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-319-18965-9 (ISBN)

Infos

This volume brings together a set of critical essays on the thought of Professor Doctor H. Tristram Engelhardt Junior, Co-Founding Editor of the Philosophy and Medicine book series. Amongst the founders of bioethics, Professor Engelhardt, Jr. looms large. Many of his books and articles have appeared in multiple languages, including Italian, Romanian, Portuguese, Spanish, and Chinese. The essays in this book focus critically on a wide swath of his work, in the process elucidating, critiquing, and/or commending the rigor and reach of his thought. This volume compasses analyses of many different aspects of Engelhardt's work, including social and political philosophy, biopolitics, the philosophy of medicine, and bioethics. It brings together internationally known scholars to assess key elements of Engelhardt's work.

Inhalt

Contents 8
Contributors 12
Author Bios 14
Introduction 16
Introduction 16
Critical Essays 19
Conclusion: The Plantation 23
References 24
Part I: Critical Essays 25
Chapter 1: A Critical Appraisal of Engelhardt on the “Enlightenment Project” 26
1.1 Engelhardt on the “Enlightenment Project” 27
1.2 A Competitor Enlightenment Project 29
1.3 Engelhardt’s Enlightenment Project 32
1.4 The Attraction of Bioethics Aiming for Reliability 33
1.5 Conclusion 35
References 35
Chapter 2: Diversity in Clinical Ethics 36
2.1 Introduction 36
2.2 Educational Aspect 39
2.3 Process Aspect 47
2.4 Philosophical Aspect 50
2.5 Conclusion 52
References 53
Chapter 3: Recognizing the Difference that Faith Makes: H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., on Life-Ending Medical Interventions 57
3.1 The Former Position 58
3.2 The Latter Position 60
3.3 Comparing the Positions 63
3.4 Final Comments 64
References 65
Chapter 4: The Foundations of Secular Bioethics 67
4.1 Immanence Versus Transcendence 68
4.2 Reflections on the Enlightenment Project 70
4.3 Justification and Belief in Clinical Bioethics 72
4.4 Avoiding Liberal Cosmopolitanism 75
4.5 Concluding Remarks 78
References 78
Chapter 5: Disease, Bioethics, and Philosophy of Medicine: The Contributions of H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr. 79
5.1 Introduction 79
5.2 Engelhardt’s Philosophy of Disease 80
5.2.1 Why Study Disease? 80
5.2.2 The Descriptive, Explanatory, Evaluative, and Social Dimensions of Disease 82
5.2.2.1 Descriptive Dimension 83
5.2.2.2 Explanatory Dimension 84
5.2.2.3 Evaluative Dimension 85
5.2.2.4 Social Dimensions 87
5.2.2.5 Facts, Theories, Values, and Social Contexts 88
5.3 Disease and Bioethics 89
5.4 Disease, Bioethics, and Philosophy of Medicine 92
5.5 Closing 94
References 94
Chapter 6: Sanctity of Life: A Study in Ambiguity and Confusion 97
6.1 Religious Perspectives and the Sanctity of Life 98
6.1.1 A Christian Perspective 98
6.1.2 Buddhist Perspectives 100
6.1.3 Summary 101
6.2 Bioethics and Sanctity of Life 102
6.2.1 General, Secular Bioethics 102
6.2.2 Cruzan: An Example 104
6.3 Conclusion 105
References 106
Chapter 7: A Transcendental Argument for Agreement as the Sole Sufficient Basis of a Philosophical Ethic 108
7.1 Introduction 108
7.2 Disentangling Four Strands of Argumentation in Engelhardt’s Foundations of Bioethics 112
7.3 Engelhardt’s Transcendental Argument for Agreement as the Necessary Basis of Any Ethic for Moral Strangers 122
7.4 To What Extent Can the Question of Moral Authority Be Disentangled from the Task Associated with Peaceably Resolving Conflicts (Resolutions Without Force)? 125
7.4.1 Meta-controversies About Controversies 127
7.4.2 The Agents, Agency, and Action Associated with the Controversy 136
7.4.3 Why the Game of Blaming and Praising Requires the Stance of an Agent that Can Be Reciprocally Assumed by the Other Agent (and the Nature of the Self-­Relation Between an Agent, Agency, and Action that Is Assumed by One Who Plays the Moral Game) 142
7.4.4 How Are Actual Agents Related to Agent Occurrences Within Categorial Controversies? 150
7.4.5 How the Grammar of Blame Is Related to the Impossibility of Simultaneously Sustaining Two Incompatible Forms of Agency 154
7.5 The Hobbesian Alternative to Engelhardt’s Minimal Ethic for Moral Strangers 156
7.6 On the Possibility of a Transcendental Argument that Explicates the Grammar of a Moral Discourse Restricted to Peaceable Resolution of Conflicts 160
References 164
Chapter 8: Equality Is Problematic: Engelhardt on Fair Equality of Opportunity, Health Care, and the Family 166
8.1 Introduction 166
8.2 The Principle of Fair Equality of Opportunity for Health Care 166
8.3 Value Pluralism in Health Care 168
8.4 Equal Input vs. Better Result 170
8.5 Democratic Ideology and Financial Unsustainability 173
8.6 Erosion of the Family 175
8.7 Conclusion 178
References 178
Chapter 9: Bioethics After the Death of God – Reflections on an Engelhardtian Theme 180
9.1 So Farewell Hope: Man as the Measure of All Things 180
9.2 And with Hope, Farewell Fear: The Denial of Ultimate Foundations 182
9.3 Farewell Remorse: The Deflation of Epistemic and Moral Claims 184
9.4 All Good to Me Is Lost: Prudential Rationality vs. Moral Rationality 188
9.5 To Reign Is Worth Ambition: Secular Bioethics as Conceptual Political Ideology 192
References 194
Chapter 10: The Ethical Conduct of Research: The Legacy of the Three Principles 197
10.1 Ethical Principles and the Principles of Research Ethics 197
10.2 The National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research 199
10.3 The Importance of the Relationship Among the Three Principles 204
References 206
Chapter 11: Non-certain Foundations: Clinical Ethics Consultation for the Rest of Us 207
11.1 Introduction 207
11.2 Engelhardt’s Account of the Sociohistorical Context of the Rise of Bioethics 208
11.3 Engelhardt’s Critiques of Clinical Ethics Consultation 209
11.4 An Alternative to Engelhardt’s Metaethical Assumptions 211
11.5 Implications of a “Non-certain” World for the Practice of Clinical Ethics Consultation 215
11.6 Conclusion 217
References 218
Chapter 12: Moral Strangers, Proceduralism, and Moral Consensus 220
12.1 Introduction 220
12.2 Procedural Ethics and Moral Strangers 222
12.2.1 Moral Strangers 223
12.3 Assessing Engelhardt’s Proceduralism 225
12.4 Weak Proceduralism 226
12.4.1 Moral Acquaintances 226
12.4.2 Moral Acquaintances: Middle Ground Position 227
12.5 Consensus and Proceduralism 230
12.6 Engelhardt’s Legacy 231
References 232
Chapter 13: Cracks in the Foundations of Engelhardt’s Bioethics 233
13.1 Introduction 233
13.2 A Brief Overview of Engelhardt’s Secular Bioethics 234
13.3 Three Key Assumptions in Engelhardt’s Bioethics 236
13.3.1 Assumptions About the Background Circumstances of Morality 236
13.3.1.1 Assumption #1 – Moral Disagreement Is Ubiquitous, Fundamental, and Intractable 236
13.3.1.2 Assumption #2 – The Categorical Distinction Between Moral Friends and Moral Strangers Constitutes an Exhaustive Difference of Kind 237
13.3.1.3 Assumption #3 – Obligations Not to Harm Are Stronger Than Obligations to Benefit 239
13.3.2 Assumptions About the Necessity and Sufficiency of Procedural Morality 240
13.3.3 Assumptions About the Breakdown of Procedural Morality 241
13.4 Evaluating an Example of Engelhardt’s Treatment of Non-paradigm Cases: Permission, Property, and Parental Authority in Pediatric Bioethics 242
13.5 Concluding Remarks 247
References 248
Part II: Personal Reflections 249
Chapter 14: Two-Score Years Ago 250
14.1 First Days in Galveston, Texas 250
14.2 The Platonic Form of Placement Services 253
References 255
Chapter 15: A Recollection with Appreciation 256
Chapter 16: H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.—A Personal Reflection 260
Reference 262
Chapter 17: Post-apocalyptic Tris 263
Chapter 18: Ode to Tris 266
Chapter 19: The Engelhardt Experience 269
Chapter 20: Studying with H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.: Lessons in an Engelhardtian Weltanschauung 272
Reference 274
Chapter 21: H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.: The Man Behind the Scholar 275
Chapter 22: Apprenticing with H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.: A Tribute to the Founder of Our Thing 277
Chapter 23: Dr. H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.: Scholar, Gentleman, Friend 280
Chapter 24: H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr.: Beloved Mentor and Teacher 283
Index 286

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 20.10.2015
• Reihe/Serie: Philosophy and Medicine
• Reihe/Serie: Philosophy and Medicine
• Zusatzinfo: XXIII, 284 p.
• Verlagsort: Cham
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Schlagworte: bioethics and biopolitics • diversity in clinical ethics • H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr • philosophy and medicine • Philosophy of Medicine • Social Philosophy
• ISBN-10: 3-319-18965-4 / 3319189654
• ISBN-13: 978-3-319-18965-9 / 9783319189659