ABSTRACT
In the first chapter I described moral theories as the ‘heart’ of bioethics. This is, of course, a metaphor, and metaphors can both illuminate and obscure our understanding. Merely following our heart can prevent us from noticing our prejudices, including our unquestioned ways of thinking. By describing bioethics in terms of different Western philosophical traditions, we may be missing important parts of the picture. So (to change the metaphor) we may need to alter the way we ‘frame’ bioethics in order to see it properly. What if our vision is distorted by our cultural assumptions? Or narrowed by our (unacknowledged) bias towards our own gender, be it male or female? Or blurred by our religious faith (or lack of it)? In this chapter I shall be describing a range of different perspectives on bioethics, in the hope of gaining a fuller picture of its richness and diversity. This is especially important when we realize that cultural diversity has become a global phenomenon and we need to learn to live with mutual understanding and respect between many different traditions and beliefs. First, I shall look at a major influence on recent bioethics, fem-
inist approaches, which seek to overcome the gender bias evident in health policies and in many discussions of bioethics issues. Next, I shall consider the contrast between cure and care in medicine, and take up the perspective of ‘care ethics’. Lastly, I shall survey a wide
range of viewpoints stemming from cultural differences in our globalized world and from the rich variety of religious belief.
