Abstract
This article seeks to rebut Robert Baker's contention that attempts to ground international bioethics in fundamental principles cannot withstand the challenges posed by multiculturalism and postmodernism. First, several corrections are provided of Baker's account of the conclusions reached by the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. Second, a rebuttal is offered to Baker's claim that an unbridgeable moral gap exists between Western individualism and non-Western communalism. In conclusion, this article argues that Baker's "nonnegotiable primary goods" cannot do the work of "classical human rights" and that the latter framework is preferable from both a practical and a theoretical standpoint.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 403-422 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Kennedy Institute of Ethics journal |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1998 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Issues, ethics and legal aspects
- Health(social science)
- Health Policy
- History and Philosophy of Science