Bioethical debates usually take the form of discussions on very specific issues that arise at the interface between biomedical science and ethics. Emerging new scientific discoveries and technological possibilities demand - sometimes very insistently - quick decisions on their moral acceptability. However, in the shadow of these pressing issues, there are disputes without which it might prove impossible, or seriously impeded, to make these practical judgements. Among the important group of such contentious issues are those related to the anthropological-ethical foundations of bioethics. This article will trace two models of bioethics, proposed by Hugo Tristram Engelhardt, in terms of a starting point for ethical reflection. Due to the narrowed nature of these proposals, their dependence on contemporary philosophical projects will be revealed and critiqued by pointing to the possibility of finding a more universal foundation.
https://czasopisma.uwm.edu.pl/index.php/hip/article/view/1407