An Analysis Of The Principle Of Permission In Engelhardt’s Secular Bioethics

This thesis is dedicated to studying the thoughts of H.T.Engelhardt,a famous American bioethicist,and focuses on the core issue of Engelhardt ’s secular bioethics——the principle of permission.Since the principle of permission was elaborated in his book "The Foundations of Bioethics" in 1986,it has caused widespread concern and great controversy.In fact,the book does not give the essential basic content of bioethics like its title,but is committed to based on the current state of moral pluralism and seeking an ethical bottom line for the settlement of moral differences between moral aliens.When human reason cannot prove to a person which substantive standard is reasonable,the only thing left to people is to procedurally follow the principle of permission when multiple standards coexist,and achieve mutual respect and peaceful negotiation.This article analyzes Engelhardt’s the principle of permission through three parts.The first part is an in-depth analysis of the background of the principle of permission.Christianity,which once dominated the western moral world,was divided internally under the influence of the Reformation.Under the impetus of the Renaissance,the Enlightenment,and the scientific revolution,the dominant position of Christianity was gradually replaced by human reason.Without a unified moral guidance,a variety of moral concepts emanating from different cultures have emerged.Enlightenment thinkers tried to construct general ethical rules that can guide people to live a moral life through reason,but they have not been successful.Modern moral philosophy engineering has failed,and people realize that they are in an era of postmodern moral pluralism.The reality of postmodern moral pluralism and the theoretical background of Engelhardt’s humanism together provide conditions for the introduction of the principle of permission.The second part of the thesis discusses the theoretical connotation of the principle of permission.First of all,Engelhardt analyzed the four methods of solving moral disputes to find the only feasible the principle of permission,and proceeded from the identity of a liberal cosmopolitan to defend the principle of permission.Secondly,the thesis interprets the distinction between Engelhardt and the persons as the moral subject and the humans as the social meaning,and determines the subject of the principle of permission.Thirdly,in addition to the principle of permission,Engelhardt also discussed the principle of doing good,and by analyzing the relationship between the two,it was concluded that the principle of permission has the primacy.Finally,since the source of moral authority relies on personal consent,Engelhardt reminds us that the authority of the country or government has become questionable.The third part of the thesis is the historical controversy,the principle of permission and its enlightenment to the field of bioethics.Engelhardt faced the current situation of moral pluralism,made bold assumptions,constructed procedural secular principles of bioethics,and provided a novel and unique research paradigm for bioethics,which caused many controversies once raised.But this does not affect our useful learning of his thoughts.At present,the development of bioethics in China is still in the rising stage,and it is necessary to continuously absorb other unique thinking and solve the problems of bioethics.