Why the way we consider the body matters - reflections on four bioethical perspectives on the human body.
Schicktanz S.
University of Göttingen, Dept. of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine, Humboldtallee 36, 37073 Göttingen, Germany. silke.schicktanz@medizin.uni-goettingen.de
BACKGROUND: Within the context of applied bioethical reasoning, various conceptions of the human body are focused upon by the author in relation to normative notions of autonomy. RESULTS: The author begins by descriptively exploring some main positions in bioethics from which the "body" is conceptualized. Such positions conflict: the body is that which is constitutive of the individual's experience and perception, or it is conceived of materially or mechanistically; or as a constructed locus, always historically and culturally transformed. The author goes on to suggest a methodological approach that dialectically considers embodiment from four different perspectives: as bodily self-determination, as respect for the bodily unavailability of the other, as care for bodily individuality; and lastly, as acknowledgement of bodily-constituted communities. These four perspectives encompass autonomy in two of its main interpretations: as the capability of a person to act independent of external forces, and as the moral ideal of pursuing individual wishes by means of role distance, self-limitation and universalization. Various bioethical cases are utilized to show how the four perspectives on the body can complement one another. CONCLUSION: The way we consider the body matters. The author's dialectical method allows a premise-critical identification and exploration of bioethical problems concerning the body. The method is potentially applicable to other bioethical problems.
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PMID: 18053201 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC2180175