Mission.
to facilitate the application of rigorous philosophical analysis to pressing global problems
Vision.
to connect philosophers & bioethicists with experts in other disciplines who are tackling the world’s challenges
Our current focus is on global health (and, by extension, medical ethics), though our vision is to become a resource and meeting place for experts engaged in other fields such as animal ethics, climate ethics, and so forth.
If you are a clinician or philosopher, no matter which part of the world, and would be interested in collaborating with someone based on a problem you’ve identified, please complete the short form in our Sign Up tab.
Scroll down on this page for an overview of key ideas of this project.
What is ‘bioethics’?
the process of bringing moral reasoning to bear upon practical ethical issues
Fundamentally, the word “bioethics” means the ethics of living things. However, we think the definition above (see John McMillan in Recommended Reading) is a great working definition.
Bioethics understood in this way means it is not simply the application of one particular ethical theory (e.g. consequentialism) or methodology (e.g. principalism). Bioethics is a process that entails the application of moral reasoning to practical problems.
We think the above definition implies the necessity of two things for bioethics to be effective:
Rigorous moral reasoning entails the need for good philosophy. As Julian Savulescu has written: “Good ethics requires good philosophy.” (see Recommended Reading)
Engagement with practical ethical issues entails the need for collaborations with experts who are active in the frontlines of the various domains of human life. Think of clinicians, lawyers, policymakers, etc. It is these experts who are able to discern problems “on the ground,” even if they lack the tools to articulate these philosophically.
Thus, philosophers and experts in other disciplines ought to actively collaborate for bioethics to yield fruitful results.
Is bioethics multidisciplinary?
Yes, given the working definition above, it is fundamentally multidisciplinary. The figure below may helps place it in relation to philosophy and other disciplines. A modified version of this figure has been published in this manuscript.
Karel-Bart Celie, MD
As the figure shows, bioethics draws heavily from concepts derived from pure philosophy (e.g., epistemology and ethics) but is not exclusively owned by it. Bioethics is informed by other disciplines.
What is ‘global’ bioethics?
Global bioethics asserts that geographic origin is morally irrelevant, while operating on the presumption that meaningful, collective moral progress can be made.
Global bioethics is a middle ground between moral relativism (denies the possibility of collective, objective progress) and moral imperialism (values held by dominant economic and political powers are promoted as universal). For more on this, see Mbih Tosam in Recommended Reading.
If perspectives are different, how can progress be made?
Think of vectors in physics. The magnitude and direction of each vector results in the overall direction of the “force” in question. Similarly, the emphasis/weight given to certain values by different communities can slightly alter the direction ethics takes us. The animation below illustrates this with vectors for “individual rights” and “community obligations”.
* We credit the vector analogy to Julian Savulescu (talk at the Oxford Uehiro Center, June 10, 2023). *
In our view, it is the business of philosophy to identify what vectors are at play, and to help clarify the magnitude and direction that they carry in the ethical argument in question.
Global bioethics presupposes that we all use the same fundamental framework for moral reasoning—just like the laws of physics in our vector analogy, except in our case they are the laws that constitute rational discourse.
Tying it back into this project.
There is a lack of platforms that connect philosophers with experts in other disciplines. We aim to facilitate such connections.
Again, if you are a clinician or philosopher, no matter which part of the world, and would be interested in collaborating with someone based on a problem you’ve identified, please complete the short form in our Sign Up tab.