Hacia una bioética cultural

Abstract

Emphasising the pre-eminence of the Western point of view in the configuration of the bioethical discourse known in Latin America, the thesis of a cultural formulation is presented that helps to understand and accept differences. Culture is defined as the set of beliefs, traditions, and aspirations in a group that determines the model ideal behaviour for its members. It is a social pragmatics that needs to be studied, decoded, and understood in both descriptive and interpretive terms. Proposals in that direction should reformulate the scope and limits of a global bioethics into its “weighty” and “light” versions.