NOTES ON BIOETHICS

Tânia Adas Saliba Rovida

Wanilda Maria Meira Costa Borghi

The term "bioethics" was first used in 1927 by a pastor.

Protestant, philosopher, and educator named Fritz Jahr (1895-1953). He published
an article entitled 'Bioethics: an analysis of the relationship of ethics for humans,
animals and plants" - ethics, therefore, applied to all living beings.

It was in 1970 that Potter (1911-2001), an oncologist and American biologist,

he problematized and disseminated this term. He considered bioethics "a bridge"
for the future" and compared it to "[...] a company that uses the sciences
biomedical sciences to improve human quality of life[...]

Potter, as the oncologist he was, reached the conclusion that cancer was not
just a physical illness, but the manifestation of threats of
environment. He felt, then, the need to create a new field of action ethics
and research, which had enough ecological content to be a concern
with the survival of the human species. And he used the term "bioethics" for this
new "survival science," which later called "global bioethics."

Still in 1970, the term 'bioethics' was used, in English, by Hellegers.

in studies on human reproduction, but it was with Reich, organizer of the
Encyclopedia of Bioethics, where the term has come to be used definitively.
For him, bioethics is the systematic study of moral dimensions - including
moral vision, decisions, conduct and policies - from the life sciences and attention
strategy, using a variety of methodological approaches in a scenario
interdisciplinary [...]

Kottow defines bioethics as "[...] the set of concepts, arguments, and

norms that value and ethically justify human acts that may have
irreversible effects on vital phenomena[...]

It is clear from these definitions that the field of bioethics, far

to be rigid, quite comprehensive and includes ethical issues related
sciences of life, health, and the environment.

BIOETHICS AND MORAL

Moral is what submits to a value. And value is the real characteristic and
objective, positive or negative (devaluation), present in things, in people, in
a belief in enduring values, in institutions and in systems.

Extrinsic value, or secondary, that becomes legitimate while

find some goal (e.g., concentration, punctuality, obedience). The
intrinsic value, or primary, legitimate in itself (e.g., beauty, peace,
justice, pleasure, etc.).

A moral depends on the values of each social group, and for this reason, it can be both
different in the same period in distinct societies, as in periods
different in the same society. Morality changes over time and space and guides the
conduct of individuals in a specific society. There is, therefore, morality
burger, a Christian moral, etc. Therefore, in order to know the
the diversity of values present in society, human morality must be
focused on the historical and social context.

The most important ingredient in a person's moral life is development.

carpenter, because this attitude provides the intimate motivation and the strength to do the
What is right and good. This is expected in the great theoretical theories.

The intelligent man does good and seeks to act according to virtue.
Classical philosophy cares for the good (agathon), virtue (arete, virtu), and duty (kathêkon).
duty). Therefore, an ethically recommended act is one adjusted to a
rule (ethical-law) and that brings good consequence (ethical-action). Ethics is the study of
good and evil, and not a synonym of good. An internalized, personal code of
how to act.

Aesthetics reflects and/or makes a critical judgment about the values that are generally
in conflict, in order to be able to choose appropriately and responsibly. This option
requires, as a fundamental condition, freedom. So that freedom does not
lose its true meaning, it is essential that every being, before choosing,
be free from any kind of prejudice, cruelty, coherence, falsehood or
sectarianism, so that the exercise of ethics may be complete and bring forth reason,
emoo, the feeling, the genetic heritage and moral values.that is why
that every sporting exercise provokes an evolution of citizenship.

The discussion about ethics and morality is not recent. It dates back to the early days.
when the evolution of knowledge was happening slowly, unlike now,
Time when so many changes occur at the same moment. In
time of Galileo, for example, it took a long time to obtain a new
knowledge. From the 20th century onwards, with the advancement of technical-scientific developments,

especially in the area of health, aesthetic reflections returned, this time from
practical form, adjusting its clothing to socioeconomic demands of
Each country is proposing the integration of the human being with nature. This is bioethics.

The bioethics, being a practical ethics, aims to put an end to conflicts once and for all. For
this, try to change the way of approaching problems and it ends up causing
a transformation of one's own life.
BIOETHICS: MULTI, INTER AND TRANSDISCIPLINARY

The terms multi, inter, and transdisciplinary are generally used as

synonyms, generating confusion and ambiguity.

Multidisciplinary teaching when the involved subjects do not suffer

modifications or enrichment; interdisciplinary when the interaction of several
knowledge results in mutual enrichment; and transdisciplinary when there is no
rigid limits for the interactions or reciprocities of the disciplines.

Interdisciplinarity requires:

• interaction of people;
• exchange of knowledge and opinions;
• a common language;
• common objectives;
• recognition of the need to consider existing differences;
• domain of the specific content of each of the participants; and
• elaboration of a complementary synthesis.

Bioethics classified as multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary, although some

authors consider it merely interdisciplinary. The pluralistic reflection and
multidisciplinary, for oscillating between the technical-scientific aspect and the ethical aspect,
humanitarian and moral, also transdisciplinary, by merging various
knowledge that ultimately generates new approaches and distinct solutions
from those of the base of your formation.

BIRTH OF BIOETHICS

According to Pessine and Barchifontaine, the Nuremberg Code is considered a

certificate of birth of bioethics.

The Nuremberg Code emerged in Germany in 1947, shortly after the end of
World War II and the atrocities of the Nazis against beings
humans (1945). Among its 10 items, the Nuremberg Code provided
relevance of risk/benefit relationship, to informed consent and to
adjustment of each drawing his research.

The Code also granted freedom to the subject of the research with human beings to,
at any moment, can withdraw from the experiment. Thus, it established the
condition of freedom and sovereignty of the human being, with rejection of the act of
torture. This code was so important that, the following year (1948), the
The United Nations (UN) established the Universal Declaration of ...
Human Rights.
The Nuremberg Code was revised and transformed into the Declaration of
Helsinki, which was later updated by world medical assemblies in
Japan (1975), in Venice (1983), in Hong Kong (1989) and in Somerset West,
in South Africa (1996). The Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki
inspired the Belmont Report, which is named after
emerged in the Belmont Convention Center, in Elkridge, Maryland,
United States.

The Belmont Report inspired Beauchamp and Childress to publish, in 1979, the
Principles of biomedical ethics, the main theoretical foundation of the new
biomedical ethics. This work inaugurated principalist bioethics, or
principled approach, which is based on the four guiding principles of decisions:
autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice (or equity). These
The principles are considered prima facie, that is, not absolute, which means
which, when compared to each other, can be prioritized according to the
circumstances.

The Belmont Report shows that, in the beginning, American reflective thought
was only concerned with the social control of research involving human beings.
Beauchamp and Childress expanded the focus of ethical concern.
for clinical and assistential practice, being well accepted in this field
success of this bioethical model.

NORTH AMERICAN BIOETHICS AND EUROPEAN BIOETHICS

The principled bioethics, or Anglo-Saxon, was influenced by John Dewey.

(1859-1952), considered the father of pragmatism. Thus, this language
bioethics learned to take care of human actions (procedures) in a way
rational, positivist, individualist, seeking immediate and decisive solutions,
based on a set of rules (moral) that, when respected, lead to
a good action.

However, this Anglo-American, normative model allows the use of

freedom by the will of the individual. Anglo-Saxon liberalism.

The European bioethical model, on the contrary, based on anthropology,

phenomenological, hermeneutical, personalist and very humanist, because in it the
the universal dignity of the person occupies the center of ethical actions and decisions.
it does not adopt rules of action, but criteria of value, classifying them as
good or bad. Always worried about character and virtues, that is,
always sought the foundation (metaphysical) of human action. However, for
that procedural problems can be resolved, necessary
resolve, also, its foundation. Furthermore, the ethical issues
they involve actions, habits (virtues), and attitudes (character). Therefore, it can be said
that these two models complement each other.

After the principles' practice, other approaches emerged, among which are
highlight the model of casuistry; the model of virtues; the model of care;
the model of natural law; the libertarian, which focuses on autonomy; the contractualist
and the personalist, among other models.
The bioethical models do not exclude each other. On the contrary, they complement each other in
seeking to better understand the ethical-moral mechanisms that govern being
human. This makes bioethics multilingual, and its fluency depends on a lot
humility and greatness so that the dialogue remains peaceful.

Latin American and Caribbean bioethics prioritizes social ethics, concerned with
the common good, with justice and equity, but also seeks virtue and
excellence, as it judges actions as good or bad and not as right or wrong
wrong. The American and European bioethics have a lot of influence on
Latin American bioethics discourse, so that it is the bioethical principles that
tools that transform the human person into the greatest foundation of value
within the Brazilian social context, where social exclusion has a strong component.
However, it is up to the State to provide the necessary support for bioethics.
may act in accordance with the plural Brazilian society.

CRITIQUE OF PRINCIPALISM

Initially, the theory of principles was well received, as it did not oppose the theory of
[...] every human being wants to prosper, and for that, only...
the path of virtue [...]

The theory of principles spread so much that the United States and England
they will call it universal. Thus, from 1970 to 1980, the theory of principles
it influenced traditional medical ethics, and bioethicists from non-medical areas,
how philosophers and moralists moved to a neutral reflection on problems
medical professionals. Beginners in the field of teaching began to approach bioethics in a way
simplistic and superficial, like a limited field application of the principles,
which, in turn, would be able to resolve all bioethical issues.

The theory of principles has been losing strength in the face of more bioethical situations.
complex, including in the field of bioethics. Starting from the 1990s,
has come to be criticized for the fact that the principles are very abstract and
fighting among themselves for hierarchy, as well as being insufficient to keep up
the contemporary aesthetic updates regarding how to appreciate what
good or bad.
Early on, then, the anti-principialist period, in which the ethics of quality
morality is not so concerned with the good, but with cultivating virtues such as
joy, fidelity, attentive care, and specific moral decisions.
ethics of casuistry, in which the stance is taken from cases
concretes, to be used as examples of consensus. The period
anti-principlist does not conflict with the principles, it simply does not absolutize them.

BIOETHICAL DIALOGUE

The neologism 'bioethics' emerged with the awareness of the risks that
molecular biology could offer humanity, if used improperly.

Although it did not emerge as a science, for not having concepts or methods
bioethics or biomedical ethics has come to show that reflection
Important ethics, not only in the fields of health, life sciences and
in environmental sciences, but also at the interface of these fields. This
It means that bioethics evaluates how each option taken in a
these three fields will interact with the other two.

Furthermore, it is important to highlight that if bioethics were not multi-

transdisciplinary, it would not exist, because it involves all disciplines
technical-scientific, exact, human and/or social related to the theme
that is being analyzed. Therefore, a dialogue between different
disciplines, the choice based on different theoretical foundations,
based on the critical examination of moral dimensions. Bioethics, therefore, the
science of different moral visions.

Being a plural process, bioethical dialogue does not aim for a monopoly on knowledge.
solitary, but to consensus, which is the structure of bioethics. This is achieved
Thanks to the credibility of the multidisciplinary court that supports the discussions
bioethics, based on its trinal values.

The central objective of knowledge is not practice.

consequently, in the bioethical dialogue, those who enter as doctors do not leave as philosophers, nor

vice-versa; to be sarcastic, no one needs to switch roles, but rather to assume the
Prioritize the paper with rigor and competence. What mattered was the exemption and the precision.
The equilibrium is based on the quality in which more important than
The solution to the conflict is the exercise of tolerance among different moralities,
although bioethical dialogue reaches a variety of contexts, and not only the
moral questions.

Bioethics is a movement that studies ethics, from life's situations.

daily, social bioethics, environmental and others. These are issues
persistent issues, such as hunger, abandonment, racism, social exclusion, and those
resulting from the technical-scientific progress, of the global concepts that
involve rights humans citizenship freedom universality,
accessibility and equity, quality of life or death, health, humanization
free consent.