Latin American Bioethics? Status, legitimation and criteria for deliberation: Latin American Bioethics? Status, legitimation and criteria for deliberation

Abstract

It has often been asked in what sense the qualification “Latin American” should be understood in the humanities. Bioethics is no exception. It deals with central issues –health, the demand for rights, etc.– which prominently highlight the tension between the local and universal claims of validity. Therefore, this paper proposes to take a sensitive and cross-cutting experience, widely shared in Latin American thought –vulnerable life– as the starting
point for the philosophical formulation of bioethics. First, the foundations of liberationist ethics are reconstructed in response to the historical denial of life, particularly from the perspectives of Dussel and Hinkelammert, to then demonstrate the connection of this philosophical perspective with the symbolic framework of the world of life in our communities, as an indispensable element for bioethical deliberation. Subsequently, some criteria are established to engage in dialogue between the Latin American liberationist philosophical tradition, grounded in the multiplicity of symbolic traditions, and the main criteria set forth by bioethical discourse, within the paradigms of principles and Human Rights. Thus, the proposed articulations from Latin America for bioethical discussion include violated vulnerability, solidarity autonomy, and a non-secularist lay bioethics.