title: Uncovering Metaethical Assumptions in Bioethical Discourse across Cultures.
abstract: Much of bioethical discourse now takes place across cultures. This does not mean that cross-cultural understanding has increased. Many cross-cultural bioethical discussions are marked by entrenched disagreement about whether and why local practices are justified. In this paper, I argue that a major reason for these entrenched disagreements is that problematic metaethical commitments are hidden in these cross-cultural discourses. Using the issue of informed consent in East Asia as an example of one such discourse, I analyze two representative positions in the discussion and identify their metaethical commitments. I suggest that the metaethical assumptions of these positions result from their shared method of ethical justification: moral principlism. I then show why moral principlism is problematic in cross-cultural analyses and propose a more useful method for pursuing ethical justification across cultures.
authors.forename: Laura Specker
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D001208:Asia; D001675:Bioethics; D002681:China; D032903:Confucianism; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics; D028663:Ethical Theory; D005190:Family; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology / Q000592:standards; D007564:Japan; D028681:Moral Obligations; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D028662:Principle-Based Ethics; D012945:Social Values; D019366:Western World