The Plurality of Chinese and American Medical Moralities: Toward an Interpretive Cross-Cultural Bioethics

• DOI: 10.1353/ken.2000.0020
• Publication Date: 2007-02-07T02:30:19Z
• Authors: Jing-Bao Nie
• Keywords: Bioethics

Since the late 1970s, American appraisals of Chinese medical ethics and responses to bioethics range from frank criticism warm appreciation, refutation acceptance. Yet in United States as well China, have been seen, respectively, individualistic communitarian. In this widely-accepted general comparison, great variation two moralities, especially diversity experiences, has unfortunately minimized, if not totally ignored. Neither nor is a field with only one dominant way thinking. Medical moralities America China--traditional modern--have always plural diverse. For example, cultures both exhibit communitarian traditions. reason, cross-cultural particular must be fundamentally interpretive. Interpretive appreciates plurality morality within any culture. It can serve vital means social cultural through engaged interpretations.