Bioethics and the argumentative legacy of atrocities in medical history: Reflections on a complex relationship

Slippery slope-, taboo-breaking- or Nazi-analogy-arguments are common, but not uncontroversial examples of the complex relationship between bioethics and the various ways of using historical arguments in these debates. In our analysis we examine first the relationship between bioethics and medical h...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Schicktanz, Silke 1970- (Author) ; Michl, Susanne 1975- (Author) ; Stoff, Heiko 1964- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2021
In: Bioethics
Year: 2021, Volume: 35, Issue: 6, Pages: 499-507
RelBib Classification:NCH Medical ethics
TK Recent history
Further subjects:B accomplice
B medical history
B Argument
B Slippery Slope
B Taboo
B Interdisciplinarity
B Public discourse
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Description
Summary:Slippery slope-, taboo-breaking- or Nazi-analogy-arguments are common, but not uncontroversial examples of the complex relationship between bioethics and the various ways of using historical arguments in these debates. In our analysis we examine first the relationship between bioethics and medical history both as separate disciplines and as argumentative practices. Secondly, we then analyse six common types of historical arguments in bioethics (slippery slope-, analogy-, continuity-, knockout/taboo-, ethical progress- and accomplice-arguments), some as arguments within the academic debate of bioethics, others as arguments within political and public debates over bioethical issues. We conclude by suggesting to bioethicists to better understand historical arguments as socially and culturally embedded practices of critical reflection of power, medical and government paternalism and possible future scenarios. More interdisciplinarity between ethicists and medical historians is needed to appropriately rationalize and understand the different legacies.
ISSN:1467-8519
Contains:Enthalten in: Bioethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/bioe.12841