Manchester University Press
12 Why the body matters
Abstract
This chapter critically evaluates John Harris's arguments for the rocurement of organs and tissues from the living and the dead. Harris regards objections to the use of material from dead bodies for life-saving purposes as "implausible to the point of wickedness", sharing the view of Emson that cadavers should be regarded as a national resource to be put at the disposal of the state. In the case of tissue and organs from the living he is in favour of an "ethical market" to ensure an adequate supply for transplantation and other medical purposes. Against these views it is argued that we need to escape from a Cartesian dualistic view of mind and body, which commits us to an overly restrictive account of rationality, a neglect of morally relevant human emotions, and a failure to see the centrality of our embodiment in our understanding of ourselves and others as persons of worth.
Abstract
This chapter critically evaluates John Harris's arguments for the rocurement of organs and tissues from the living and the dead. Harris regards objections to the use of material from dead bodies for life-saving purposes as "implausible to the point of wickedness", sharing the view of Emson that cadavers should be regarded as a national resource to be put at the disposal of the state. In the case of tissue and organs from the living he is in favour of an "ethical market" to ensure an adequate supply for transplantation and other medical purposes. Against these views it is argued that we need to escape from a Cartesian dualistic view of mind and body, which commits us to an overly restrictive account of rationality, a neglect of morally relevant human emotions, and a failure to see the centrality of our embodiment in our understanding of ourselves and others as persons of worth.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of contributors ix
- Series editors’ forewords xvi
- Acknowledgements xx
-
Part I Introductions
- 1 Editors’ introduction 3
- 2 Thought and memory 16
-
Part II Grounding moral arguments
- 3 On moral nose 33
- 4 Hanging around with Jackson 44
- 5 The unbearable desire for explicitness and rationality in bioethics 56
- 6 Moral epistemology and the survival lottery 64
- 7 Harris and the criticism of the status quo 75
- 8 The natural as a moral category 85
- 9 Making sense of human dignity 92
- 10 Why we should save the anthropocentric person 102
-
Part III From ethics to policy and practice
- 11 Why the reasonable man is not always right? 119
- 12 Why the body matters 131
- 13 Harris’s principle of justice in health care 142
- 14 Eqalyty revisited 152
- 15 The safety of the people and the case against invasive health promotion 163
- 16 Could we reduce racism with one easy dip? 170
- 17 Against mumps, Meursault, McDonald’s and Marlboro 181
- 18 Killing and allowing to die 190
-
Part IV John Harris responds
- 19 Response to and reflections on chapters 3–18 201
- Bibliography 226
- Index 238
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of contributors ix
- Series editors’ forewords xvi
- Acknowledgements xx
-
Part I Introductions
- 1 Editors’ introduction 3
- 2 Thought and memory 16
-
Part II Grounding moral arguments
- 3 On moral nose 33
- 4 Hanging around with Jackson 44
- 5 The unbearable desire for explicitness and rationality in bioethics 56
- 6 Moral epistemology and the survival lottery 64
- 7 Harris and the criticism of the status quo 75
- 8 The natural as a moral category 85
- 9 Making sense of human dignity 92
- 10 Why we should save the anthropocentric person 102
-
Part III From ethics to policy and practice
- 11 Why the reasonable man is not always right? 119
- 12 Why the body matters 131
- 13 Harris’s principle of justice in health care 142
- 14 Eqalyty revisited 152
- 15 The safety of the people and the case against invasive health promotion 163
- 16 Could we reduce racism with one easy dip? 170
- 17 Against mumps, Meursault, McDonald’s and Marlboro 181
- 18 Killing and allowing to die 190
-
Part IV John Harris responds
- 19 Response to and reflections on chapters 3–18 201
- Bibliography 226
- Index 238
