Abstract
According to Beauchamp and Childress, in their extremely influential work, The Principles of Biomedical Ethics, the four principles of bioethics are autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. The first principle, autonomy, is the right of individuals to self-determination and self-government, that is, one’s right to make informed decisions about their life and health without any external interference, which leaves no room for any kind of paternalism. For Christian theology, the creation of humans in the image and likeness of God, reveals their superiority within the rest of creation as well as the human person’s unassailable dignity, because of which, human life is considered sacred. Furthermore, according to Christian ethics, within Creation, only human nature is associated with reason and free will and this is what justifies the inalienable human rights and our undeniable right to decide autonomously for ourselves. Therefore, Christian bioethics firmly respects human autonomy. On the other hand, Christian theology does not conform to the “absolutization” of autonomy and the excessive emphasis given to it by modern bioethics, since the eschatological salvation of the soul is of much higher importance. For several Christian theologians and thinkers, this absolutization, instead of bringing people together, isolates and separates them, while, on the moral level, leading to incoherence and confusion. So, where exactly does Christian bioethics stand between these two poles of absolutization and repudiation of autonomy? This question is considered in this paper.
Presenters
Angelos MavropoulosPhD student and part-time lecturer, School of Theology, Philosophy, and Music, Dublin City University, Ireland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Autonomy, Absolutization, Human rights, Bioethics, Christian ethics, Paternalism
