Astra Salvensis (Jul 2020)
Important Socio-Ethical Criteria for Forming Judgement and Subsequent Action in Biomedical Research
Abstract
Since the ethical assessment of human action in biomedical fields of conflict depends on several criteria, we try in this work to follow the analysis of the Freiburg moralist Schockenhoff. Indeed, the ethically relevant context in which our actions are evaluated also includes the intention that the actor follows, the means by which the action is carried out and also the consequences that the action entails. All these aspects bring with them a common, inextricable unity of action, which is only ever given as a concrete possibility of action, from which no element of ethical analysis can be isolated and broken off. The social function of peace, which in a democratic state the prohibition to kill is entitled to, is only granted if the respect for the life of the other person is maintained even in stressful situations, i.e. only if the prohibition to kill is reliably practiced by everyone, even in borderline cases. This defensive aspect of life connects unconditionally all members and institutions of society. On the contrary, the task of positively supporting human and other life then requires further norms of evaluation (with thoughts of St. Thomas Aquinas), so that the concrete unavoidable cases and priorities can be recognized.
