Abstract
The existence of a plurality of ethical perspectives based on the presence of diverse religions and worldviews in contemporary society can make it hard to reach consensus on ethical issues in healthcare. Not only do religion and worldview influence attitudes, practices, and policies in healthcare. Racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious stereotypes and biases based on the assumption that people of a different social group are hard or even impossible to comprehend may obstruct dialogue and lead to inequalities and disparities in healthcare. In this context, moral relativism, which claims that, all moral viewpoints being equal, they can only be assessed from their own particular perspective, does not offer solutions and only reconfirms the impossibility of moral dialogue. The idea of common morality offers a way out of this deadlock by providing a common language on the basis of which normative ethical discussion in healthcare becomes possible. Differences may remain at the level of particular moralities. The common morality creates an atmosphere in which empathetic understanding of other ethical perspectives is enabled. In the case of ethical conflict, this offers an opportunity to search for creative solutions that are acceptable to all parties involved.
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Suggested Readings
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The following book by Ruth Macklin provides a critical analysis of cultural relativism and possible responses to it.
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Macklin, R. 1999. Against Relativism: Cultural Diversity and the Search for Ethical Universals in Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press.
In the field of bioethics, the common morality theory has been most influentially defended by Tom L. Beauchamp, James F. Childress, and Bernard Gert. In the current article, we analyzed the practical implications of common morality. Readers interested in its theoretical justification will find this in the following works.
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Beauchamp, T.L., and Childress, J.F. 2009. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Gert, B., Culver, C.M., and Clouser, K.D. 2006. Bioethics: A Systematic Approach. New York: Oxford University Press.
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Gielen, J. (2020). Bioethics in Secular, Pluralistic Society. In: Gielen, J. (eds) Dealing with Bioethical Issues in a Globalized World . Advancing Global Bioethics, vol 14. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30432-4_11
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