生命伦理之争的文化视角--以安乐死和人工流产为例

从文化的角度看,生命伦理之争是文化之争.也就是说,生命伦理之争的背后是不同文化传统之间、同一文化内部不同派别之间、对同一经典的不同诠释之间的争论.然而,东西方文化之间,以及同一文化内部各派别之间也并非完全不可通约,未来生命伦理学的发展必须保持其普世性和多元性之间的张力.     

生命伦理之争的文化视角——以安乐死和人工流产为例

从文化的角度看,生命伦理之争是文化之争。也就是说,生命伦理之争的背后是不同文化传统之间、同一文化内部不同派别之间、对同一经典的不同诠释之间的争论。然而,东西方文化之间,以及同一文化内部各派别之间也并非完全不可通约,未来生命伦理学的发展必须保持其普世性和多元性之间的张力。     

The example of Christ and voluntary active euthanasia

The Christian church's aversion to suicide need not inform its position on voluntary active euthanasia any more than it informs its understanding of the role Jesus played in securing his own death. When the ontological polarity of freedom and destiny is kept in balance and is in agreement spontaneously and independently, culpability for the death of Jesus should be assigned neither to him nor to those who sought his crucifixion. This correspondence of freedom and destiny results in a theonomous moment, transcending all guilt. Similarly, when one elects to die because that choice best corresponds with one's self-image, it is extremely doubtful that this act of faith can be made intelligible or justified to others. If Jesus is example and not merely redeemer, this understanding implies that all people should be afforded the same freedom in death that jesus was without incurring moral guilt.     

The sanctity of life: The role of purity in attitudes towards abortion and euthanasia

Although abortion and euthanasia are highly contested issues at the heart of the culture war, the moral foundations underlying ideological differences on these issues are mostly unknown. Given that much of the extant debate is framed around the sanctity of life, we argued that the moral foundation of purity/sanctity—a core moral belief that emphasises adherence to the “natural order”—would mediate the negative relationship between conservatism and support for abortion and euthanasia. As hypothesised, results from a nation-wide random sample of adults in New Zealand (N = 3360) revealed that purity/sanctity mediated the relationship between conservatism and opposition to both policies. These results demonstrate that, rather than being motivated by a desire to reduce harm, conservative opposition to pro-choice and end-of-life decisions is (partly) based on the view that ending a life, even if it is one's own, violates God's natural design and, thus, stains one's spiritual purity.