Abstract
The human body is an intrinsic object dealt with in Medicine, yet several bioethical perspectives neglect it. This body, according to various theories, is and rightly should be governed by a Sovereign Will which is housed within a distinctive and separate mind. In the Western discipline of Bioethics, this Will expressed as autonomous decision-making capacity has been given particular preference in determining the relationship between medical practitioners and their patients. The evidence is in the most dominant ethical perspective that guides the practice of medicine, T. Beauchamp and J. Childress’ Principlism. This perspective, in essence, is the view that the balancing of four principles can resolve ethical dilemmas, those of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice, where many adherents prioritize the first one. It is an approach to biomedical ethics that aims to provide a common moral language, common moral commitments, and a universal moral analytical framework. In this thesis, I explore an under-studied problem with Principlism, its lack of direct ethical attention to the human body. I argue that a new and different bioethical approach focused on the body could provide an alternative to Principlism. It could assist in sound ethical decision-making, particularly in cases where individuals lack the capacity for autonomy. I systematically argue for a new body-centric theory in bioethics by analyzing what Principlism is, the difficulty of its application in specific bioethical dilemmas such as the termination of a normal pregnancy, euthanasia, adults who have dementia, and even those concerning a healthy human adult, and what a promising alternative would be...
Ph.D. (Philosophy)