Türkiye Biyoetik Dergisi (Feb 2018)
Ethics in the light of scientific philosophy: understanding Yaman Örs's methodological approach
Abstract
Why scientific philosophy? Why Hans Reichenbach? Is there a good reason for us to adopt the methodological approach of scientific philosophy when philosophical activity and ethics is considered? Should the philosophers be held responsible from the judgments they arrive at? According to Yaman Örs (1936-2016), who embraces the approaches of logical positivism, logical empiricism and scientific philosophy, basically as defended by Hans Reichenbach, there is and they should. Yaman Örs, the late prominent bioethicist, has played a crucial leading role in the development of this academic field in Turkey. He has a great number of invaluable works in different fields. But, this paper focuses on his works in which he covered the importance of scientific philosophy for the philosophical activity, the methodology in ethics and the moral issues arising in the field of bioethics and medical ethics. The main aim of this paper is to examine the methodological approach of Yaman Örs as a scientific philosopher and the significant role it plays in ethics and, in part, bioethics. This paper will also signify in detail the importance of the terms, 'the ethics of philosophy or philosophizing', 'the ethics of philosophers', 'the problem sets in bioethics and medical ethics', and 'ethics of the professions as differentiated extensions of ethics', all of which seem to be first raised by Yaman Örs and are quite important not only for medical ethics and bioethics, but also for philosophy as an academic field of study.
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