Volume 48, Issue 1

The People's Republic of China is facing very severe environmental problems. The first part of this study is explaining this situation and the most important reasons for this. Beginning in 1989/90 the Chinese Government has recognized the danger of ecological devastation. The development and the limitations of environmental politics in Chinaare characterized in the second part. In this phase the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development made a important contribution defining the principles of Chinas environmental politics. Very fruitful has been the concrete Chinese-German Cooperation on Environment. Public awareness is a decisive precondition for solving the environmental problems. Forthis reason the final part of the study is discussing the change of the Chinese society, the development of the civil society and the situation of human rights in China

The fundamental bioethical problems of medical progress, i.e. the gap between new medical technologies on the one hand and the inherited moral code as well as limited economic resources on the other, and of social change and cultural pluralism are even more urgent in Africa than in industrialised nations. Several characteristic conflicts result from these tensions: a superior position ofhealth care professionals without the corresponding checks and balances, the allocation of extremely scarce resources in the public sector and within health care, the relationship between biomedicine and 'traditional' healing, and the difference between individualistic and communalistic ethics, e.g. regarding informed consent

The particular situation of children in hospitals is discussed on the basis of a principle of equality which is founded on both childrens' rights and theology. It is just because of these equal rights of children that special medical care is required which does justice to the characteristics and the stage of development of children. Medical care like that does not at all have tobe a general obstacle to considerations of economic efficiency. The particular dependence of children on stable social surroundings implies a priority of outpatient and home treatment as weil as the integration of parents and other important persans to whom the child relates closely when it comes to an inevitable admission in a hospital. A model of medical ethics based on »informed consent« needs particular aspects concerning the interests of children in hospitalssuch as child-orientated information and the graduated legal obligatory nature of the child 's will

About 3,5 million Muslims live in Germany.The headscarves debate has become a recurring issue over the past months. The essay refers to the idea of tolerance as weil as to the basic right of freedom of religion. From this point of view, the author disagrees with bills which, if passed, would prohibit Muslim teachers from wearing headscarves in a classroom

In Protestant theology, values are widely neglected because new sociological and philosophical theories of values arenot taken into consideration. In this paper, the author argues that the theory of values as it is developed by the sociologist Hans Joas is a helpful instrument to understand the connection between freedom, justification, and habit. 1t becomes clear that Christi an belief results in a certain way of everyday ethics and spirituality that needs empirical observation and theological reflection

This paper critically considers the responsibility of transnational enterprises in the process of globalization. The traditional state-centric approach with its separation of politics and business is not capable of explaining business behaviour in a globalized world. We review the theory of economic ethics by Karl Hornrom and emphasize the theoretical challenges that need tobe addressed by business ethics. In particular, business ethics has to integrate the political role that transnational enterprises are playing in global govemance processes

Many authors recently tried to show that markets don't have tobe based on morals as ordering principles. This paper intends to elaborate on two missing aspects in this debate: Firstly, a well-founded critique of this thesis traces back to Durkheim and Parsons. Their arguments on these critical points will bring new insights into the debate of how order is established. Secondly, many authors Iimit their studies to simple game theory-based arguments and on reflections on plausibility conceming the power of the state to enforce the law without explaining steps and conditions for the evidence of the suggested processes. This papertri es to fill some of these gaps; it will show that there are good arguments for real markets based on law and especially on morals to reach a high Ievel of division of labour

A. Schweitzer does not conceive hirnself as the author of a totally new ethics, but as an ethicist revitalizing the ethicallegacy of humankind in order to gain a new impact of the normative idea of humanity as a common asset of world civilizations. Starting from the all-today experience he elaborates his main principle of devotion towards life bornfrom reverence for life as a plausible guideline for any individual person independently of culture and religion. Thus he presents a model of normative ethics that includes the Christian commandment of Iove as weil as the ethical traditions of the different cultures. This is why Schweitzer's contribution to the modern debate about ethics cannot be ignored

What can be understood as one's duty to oneself is decided by one's understanding of what the ,self' is. This holds for philosophical as much as for theological ethics. The article tries to show that Christian faith, in the interests of a culture of common freedom, should take up a ditferentiated position towards the (post)modem care of the self

The discussion about the possibilities of human freedom is by far not tinished yet, Iet alone worn out. The discourse on freedom again became the focus of critical discussion, especially due to the immensely pushed and successful neurosciences and their findings and- following in their wake- newly established (neuro-)philosophical concepts. But also inner-philosophical problems demand re-orientation. This has tobe of interest for theology, too, as freedom is at the core of Christian self-understanding and theological explication

The nationwide supply with the afferings of Palliative Care is a generally acknowledged aim. But it is disputed whether it is a sufficient alternative to death on demand or assisted suicide. This is being discussed on a European level. But what the current discussion is Jacking of, are empirical studies regarding the culture of dying. The case study at hand Iooks into the basic social and cultural conditions in a large city. It also discusses the consequences of religious change and the inter-religious situation on the palliativemovement and their relation to the churches

The essay is dealing critically with views from the area of evangelical theology, that understand secularisation and ideological neutrality of the public sphere as a misfortune and as a marginalisation of religion. In cantrast to this, the paper argues that there is a Christi an responsibility for a ideolocally neutral public sphere

In consequence of developments particularly in Brain - Research, freedom has become again subject of a newly opened debate. The number of different and controversial positions is remarkable.Has freedom tobe understood as result of determinism based on neural processes? To what extend does this affect traditional teachings of guilt and responsability? Or has freedom still to be seen as beeing grounded in man' s undetermined free will? What are the consequences Ethics has to face in view of traditional concepts offreedom? To what extend do those concepts have tobe critically re-examined? This essay is focussing on different and controversial arguments that are exchanged in the ongoing debate, as it even tries to line out ways of approach to solve a vital issue

Whether in a new Austrian constitution a preamble, with or without reference to God I with or without reference to the religious, in particular Christian legacies, should precede the normative text, is a question that is discussed from a historical and constitutional point of view, and answered negatively: European constitutions since the Enlightenment transform the »subjects«, who would not have any other appeal than to God, into »citizens« who are protected by human rights as constitutional law; citizens are the origin and the goal of all political activities. Their participation in shaping the state's policies is based on their own concience only, even if their concience is determined by religious beliefs