宗教学的生命倫理研究のための素描・続 : エンゲルハートと聶精保の対比を軸に

The author published two articles concerning Bioethics in this magazine in 2006 and 2007. The present article discusses the same problem: constructing Bioethical studies from the viewpoint of religious studies. The main theme is the relationships between bioethical discourses and religious traditions. This article deals with two recently published books in the field of Bioethics: Tristram Engelhardt's The Foundation of Christian Bioethics (Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers, 2000) and Nie JingBao's Medical Ethics in China: a Transcultural Interpretation (Routledge, 2011). Nie Qingbao criticizes Engelhardt's assertion of "Christian Bioethics," and advocates "Transcultural Bioethics." His main concern lies in comparison of cultures. Engelhardt's assertion is based on his understanding of the postmodern world as a "libertarian cosmopolis," in which various communities co-exist without sharing any basic value systems. In such a situation, the only possible foundation of ethics is free and voluntary agreements, and "moral strangers" who do not share any moral views cooperate on the basis of agreements. This is what he calls "empty framework" or "content-less ethics." But this "empty framework" cannot be actually empty. Agreements signify a value: the value of autonomy and self-determination. The "empty framework" forces the various communities to accept this value. Engelhardt tries to protect the Christian values and worldviews against this secular value. Nie Jingbao criticizes Engelhardt's basic premise that various communities in the secular world cannot share any value systems. If Engelhardt's premise is correct, it means that all cultures are "radical others" and totally incommensurable. But this premise conflicts with our matter-of-fact perception of cross-cultural commonalities or shared humanity. Nie Jingbao argues that the "radical others" view over-simplifies cultural differences, and ignores the internal plurality in a culture. He calls this view as "the fallacy of dichotomizing cultures," which is dangerous in practice, because conservative governors try to justify the existing social structures, by the way of appealing to cultural differences. It seems that Engelhardt and Nie Jingbao discuss the different levels of cultural differences. Nie Jingbao points to the "real" differences, including similarities, while Engelhardt asserts the ''constractive''creation of such differences. The latter's strategy is possible and even necessary, but we need to recognize that it is not "real" but "constructive," because it always includes simplification and distortion.論文/Article