Body measures: Phenomenological considerations of corporeal ethics

Journal/Book: J Med Phil. 1998; 23: P O Box 825, 2160 Sz Lisse, Netherlands. Swets Zeitlinger Publishers. 533-545.

Abstract: The development of bioethics primarily at the cognitive level further perpetuates the tendency to construe all aspects of our lives, including our bodies, as technical systems. For example, if we consider the moral issue of organ sales without taking our embodiment into account, there appear to be no sound arguments for opposing such sales. However, it is important to consider the aspects of the phenomenal body that challenge rational deliberation by exploring an embodied approach to the ethical dilemma produced by a proposed kidney exchange as presented in one of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Dekalog films. What is sought is a description of a body-measure that would serve as a critique of strictly cognitive bioethical deliberations.

Note: Article Fielding HA, Univ Western Ontario, Talbot Coll, Dept Philosophy, London, ON N6A 3K7, CANADA

Keyword(s): body; Heidegger; Merleau-Ponty; organ sales; phenomenology

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