ABSTRACT

Culture and ethics are as closely bound together as matter and energy. It is difficult to disentangle their effects, indeed it often seems difficult to distinguish between them. This chapter examines what is meant by 'ethics' and its relationship with moral theory. It analyses whether moral theory might apply across cultures, how the culture of both the doctor and the patient determine the social and behavioural assumptions within which ethical decisions are made. The chapter examines the uneasy symbiosis between culture and ethics. It looks at cross-cultural ethics, taking western and Islamic ethics as an example. It compares moral theory including notions of autonomy between these cultures. The chapter argues that doctors and patients have their own distinct cultures. Disagreement about moral codes seems to reflect people's adherence to and participation in different ways of life.