The historical and philosophical basis of bioethics

Background: The author provides highlights from the three millennia history of bioethics. Bioethics can, simultaneously, be regarded as both one of the oldest and one of the most recently developed of the disciplines of the current-day university. Four key moments in the rediscovery of bioethics in the 20th century are discussed. Objectives: The objectives of the article are fourfold: (1) To describe the historical background of the discipline of bioethics. (2) To provide a systematic analysis of the nature of philosophy. (3) To demonstrate the philosophical basis of bioethics. (4) To argue for the specific nature of philosophical bioethics as an interdisciplinary enterprise. Method: This article, in line with most research in philosophy, is a conceptual study that, by and large, utilises the method of conceptual analysis for answering conceptual questions. Results: An important result is the analysis of the philosophical basis of bioethics. The second part of the article also yielded an extensive analysis of philosophy and the way in which it is presupposed by and feeds into bioethics. Conclusion: The main conclusion is reached in response to the fact that some bioethicists argue that bioethics is such a radically interdisciplinary enterprise that philosophy is no longer required for its operations. The author ventures to argue that philosophy is not only necessary for doing bioethics but indeed provides the intellectual basis for the enterprise of bioethics. Contribution: The analyses of the nature of philosophical questions and how they must be approached are, throughout, illustrated with examples from bioethics, which clearly shows the significance of and extent to which philosophical analysis influences the practice of bioethics. Thus the ‘philosophical basis of bioethics’ is, to the author’s best understanding, demonstrated.