Bioethics with Chinese Characteristics: Cultural Contexts and Modern Trends

The thesis represents a study of bioethics in China based on cross-cultural, comparative, linguistic, document and textual analysis. In the West, there are many exclusive works dedicated to bioethics in general: they provide a detailed examination of the genesis of contemporary bioethical principles, legal framework, related institutions, and the most recent tendencies in bioethical thought. However, the Asian version of bioethics, for the most part, remains uncovered. In the author’s opinion, there are some profound reasons why these gaps should be filled, especially in the case of China: – Since the presumption that Chinese culture differs significantly from the Western ones, local bioethics should have important differences, too; – Comparative analysis of two or more cultures of bioethics can bring a more profound understanding of each one; – China is extremely active in high technologies development, including biotechnologies/innovative medicine; and discoveries are being made in China will definitely influence the development of bioethics in the world and related policies; – Bioethics can serve as a paradigmatic illustration of China’s social politics and the country’s position in the modern world. To introduce a comprehensive picture of the subject of the research, the author has set up three major goals: (1) Indicate the features of Chinese bioethics and to trace their formation through Confucian, Taoist, Marxist, and other influences; to study and describe its cultural, historical and political backgrounds; (2) To analyze similarities and differences with Western bioethics in several particular issues such as euthanasia, organ transplantation, reproductive technologies, cloning, etc. 3) To find out how bioethics is applied in contemporary China. The paper consists of three chapters. The first chapter aims to introduce in bioethics in general. It discusses history and definitions of the discipline, its subjects, tools, and principles, mainstream and alternative approaches, international conventions, and dilemmas. The second chapter deals with historical, cultural, and religious background of bioethics in China. It presents a history of Chinese bioethics as a research field, linguistic analysis of some particular Chinese terms and expressions, the analysis of works of Chinese scholars dedicated to the construction of Confucian and Taoist bioethics, and popular Chinese textbook on biomedical ethics. The third chapter studies the practical implementation of bioethics in contemporary China. I will observe respective laws and regulations, as well as the specificity of its application. The chapter presents a public opinion study and some particular case studies based on collected articles, news, and interviews. That is made to understand the attitude of various social groups in China to relevant bioethical issues. The result of the work was the confirmation, expansion and refinement of the original hypothesis, stating that Chinese bioethics presents a multifaceted compound of intrinsic cultural features, “reinvented” Confucian and Taoist cultures, politically determined principles and specificity of operation of biotechnology regulatory system. The author defines five major “drivers” in Chinese bioethics, to name: science orientation as a part of Chinese politics; efforts to construct Confucian bioethics; specific body perception, linguistic and other intrinsic features of Chinese culture; market factor and the importance of China’s international reputation. Since most of these factors and characteristics are authentic and specific, the author assumes that in the future Chinese bioethics will retain a number of its distinguishing features and influence both global standards and local bioethics in countries politically and culturally connected to China.