儒道與生命倫理

Confucianism and Bioethics in China

Abstract

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.

誕生於北美的生命倫理學有著獨特的社會歷史文化背景，它是在科學技術發展的推動下，在西方資本主義發展以來個人主義的倫理傳統的基礎上，伴隨著後現代思潮發展起來的。然而由於文化傳統的不同，在中國生硬地套用西方理論，在實踐中反而會使人更加迷惘。在中國如何解決道德異鄉人共處的問題，如何建構中國本土化的生命倫理學，從與北美生命倫理學的產生背景比較的角度分析，我們得出了回溯傳統文化的結論。儒家思想作為中國傳統文化中最有影響力的一派，其價值取向和思維方式已經滲透到中國人生活的各個方面，因此在與西方生命倫理思想對話，以及建構當代的生命倫理學中儒家思想可以從以下三個方面作出貢獻：第一、倫理原則的普世性論證層面；第二、原則矛盾的解決層面；第三、具體問題層面。

In this essay, I begin by addressing H. Tristram Engelhardt’s argument of the breakdown of the traditional consensus on moral and religious good. Engelhardt maintains that in the post-modern age, the possibility of constructing a full account of human good is almost impossible. People from different groups and communities engage with one another as moral strangers who need to negotiate moral arrangements. These negotiations are governed by the principle of autonomy, or the “principle of permission.” I contend that Engelhardt’s argument is also relevant in China, although from a different perspective. The traditional distinctions used to distinguish moral categories in the West very often do not fit into the context of Chinese tradition. I propose that we need to go back to our own cultural heritage, such as Confucianism, to deal with the problem of diversity and moral relativism in China, rather than being confined to a rationalized form of universal principles. Although Confucian moral judgment sometimes tends to be intuitive, it makes more sense when we are confronting specific moral dilemmas. Any moral principle, when compared with other moral principles, needs to be weighed and balanced in determining the optimal course of action.

DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 125 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.