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Durham E-Theses Durham E-Theses Toward a new paradigm for bioethics: ecological and theological contributions Rowell, Mary How to cite: Rowell, Mary (2005) Toward a new paradigm for bioethics: ecological and theological contributions, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2279/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk TOWARD A NEW PARADIGM FOR BIOETHICS ECOLOGICAL AND THEOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS The copyright of this thesis rests with the author or the university to which It was submitted. No quotation from It, or Information derived from It may be published without the prior written consent of the author or university, and any Information derived from It should be acknowledged. A thesis in 1 volume submitted by Mary Rowell: To the Department of Theology and Religious Studies University of Durham: PhD. Degree Submitted: October. 2005 - 5 FEB 2007 ABSTRACT MARY ROWELL TOWARDS A NEW PARADIGM FOR BIOETHICS: ECOLOGICAL AND THEOLOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS In this thesis it is argued that current conceptions of bioethics are inadequate in the light of today's global ecological and societal circumstances. An examination of the dominant contemporary model of bioethics as it is known and practiced in North America shows it to be entrenched and entrapped in a medical context and an ethos of liberal individualism. The model does not have the scope or flexibility to address critical issues of environmental destruction and its social causes and consequences, both of which impact the integrity of the biosphere and human health. Thus, bioethics fails to fulfill its purported role with respect to life, health, and the service of medicine and those receiving care within the medical system. The claim is made that a new paradigm for bioethics is needed, one modeled on ecological principles. It is argued moreover that theology can be a valuable contributor to the development of an ecological bioethics. Traditional contributions of theology to bioethics are not, however, adequate for the task of reformulating the discipline to meet today's urgencies and needs. What is needed is a retrieval of the rich Christian tradition of creation theology and the insights of contemporary eco-theology. A detailed account of these theological perspectives is provided together with an exploration of recent ecclesial statements and documents which articulate them in a vital manner and in terms of a call for Christian moral commitment. Theology is thus shown to have a potentially powerful and imaginative gift, to be joined with others, in the evolution of bioethics. Finally, this thesis presents a model for the expression and practical development of an ecological bioethics - a bioethics for life and healing - for today and for our future. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v DECLARATION vi INTRODUCTION vii CHAPTER 1: EXPLORING BIOETHICS 1 Traditional Medical Ethics 3 Mid-twentieth-Century Developments in Medical Science 4 Lessons of the Holocaust 4 Continuing Optimism and the Gifts of Science in the 1960's 7 A Strained Medical Ethics 8 Conferences and the Fledgling Bioethics 13 Bioethics 17 The Wider Origins of Bioethics 24 Theology and the New Bioethics 31 The New Bioethics and Traditional Theology: Mirror-Images 40 CHAPTER 2: TOWARD A RENEWAL OF BIOETHICS: SOME BEGINNINGS 53 A Global Ecological Crisis 54 Key Features of Global Environmental Crisis 55 Social and Personal Costs of the Environmental Crisis 62 Environmental Destruction, International Policy and Human Health 66 A Case to Consider 73 A Case Analysis: Critiquing Standard Bioethics 79 A Renewal of Bioethics? 87 The Beginnings of an Ecological Model of Bioethics: A Retrieval of the Work of Rensselaer Potter 92 CHAPTER 3: THEOLOGY, ECOLOGY AND A RENEWAL OF BIOETHICS 102 Theology: A Potentially Constructive Voice in the Development of Bioethics 103 Tradition, Scriptural Interpretation and "God's Good Creation" 106 Creation in the Early and Medieval Church 109 Loss and Continuity of an Ecological Motif in Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology 123 Evolution, Process Thought and Modern Theology 126 Oppression, Liberation and Ecotheology 137 Feminist Voices and the Growth in Ecotheology 140 New Biblical Scholarship: Its Contributions to Ecotheology 147 "Let all the Earth Bless the Lord" - The Ecological Motif Through the Ages 152 The Christian Tradition as Promise 156 iii CHAPTER 4: DEVELOPING A NEW MORAL FOUNDATION FOR BIOETHICS 158 Church Response to an Environmental and Social Crisis 160 The Churches and the Articulation of a Moral Foundation 165 A Second Mirror-Imaging: Theology and a New Foundation forBioethics 183 Prevailing Anthropocentrism 186 Thomas Berry: The Need for a "New Story" 189 The "New Story": Berry's Functional Cosmology 195 Some Critique of Thomas Berry 208 Berry and Moltmann: Some Points of Comparison 217 The Contributions of Thomas Berry to a Reformulation of Bioethics 222 CHAPTER 5: GIVING NEW SHAPE TO BIOETHICS: AN ECOLOGICAL MODEL 230 An Ecological Model of Bioethics: An Understanding of the Concept 232 A New Look at Bioethics Theory 234 Issues of Conflict or Competing Interests 261 Virtue Ethics: Possible Contributions to a Revised Theory of Bioethics 266 The Social Teachings of the Church as a Basis for the Development of Bioethics 275 Education in Bioethics and Bioethics Education 282 A New Look at Bioethics Practice 284 Conclusion 308 BIBLIOGRAPHY 310 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The opportunity to research and write this thesis would not have been possible without the love, encouragement, and oftentimes sacrifice of my family throughout my life. I owe a special debt of gratitude to my late Mother, Bessie May Rowell for showing me from my early years, that the joy, beauty health and flourishing of humankind is inseparable from the magnificence, gift and integrity of the natural world. I owe to my late Father, Leonard Walter Rowell a sense of the sacred that is in every aspect of this world, in all its events, and in our experiences of them. I am deeply grateful to the example of Dr. E. Monica Shutter, family physician, teacher, and Methodist minister, who through her life has shown me a vision of medicine that is at once scientific, sacred, compassionate and all- embracing. A debt of immense gratitude is owed to the many people with whom I worked in the developing world. In their material poverty and deep suffering, they showed me human dignity and true joy and they taught me the meaning of difference and inequality. The encouragement necessary to complete this work has been the gift of my two supervisors at the University of Durham. I thank Dr. Ann Loades for her wisdom, continuing kindness and expert guidance. I owe a debt of appreciation to Dr. Robert Song who graciously took on the supervision of my thesis following the retirement of Dr. Loades. I thank Dr. Song for his invaluable insights, challenging critique, patience and never-failing support. I thank Margot Smith and Heather Gamester for their copy editing skills and kindness. Any remaining mistakes in style and grammar are entirely my own. Lastly, but very especially, I owe profound thanks to my religious congregation, The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peterborough, Canada, without whose fidelity, support and encouragement this work would have been impossible. I especially thank Sisters Joan Driscoll and Shirley Tapp, C.S.J, for their patient reading of my chapters, their comments and challenges. Most of all I thank them for their generous friendship and remarkable examples of loving commitment. I wish to express particular thanks to Sisters Shirley O'Rourke, Marilyn Meraw and Linda Gregg C.S.J, for their vision and passionate witness to the importance of ecology for spirit, faith and life. I thank Sister Marilyn Meraw for her witness to a life of integrity, love and simplicity, for her unfailing support, and for her guidance and friendship that bless my life. I owe deep gratitude to Sister Linda Gregg for her leadership in the ecology ministry of our congregation, her knowledge and insight which she shared with me so generously, and for her life's example and friendship that is my inspiration. vi DECLARATION I declare that no part of this thesis has been submitted for a degree in this or any other university. All references to the work of other writers and researchers have been appropriately cited in the footnotes of this thesis. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any form, including electronic and the internet, without the author's prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. VII INTRODUCTION This thesis has its beginnings in my professional experience. As a clinical bioethicist, and teacher of bioethics, I came to the gradual realization that the dominant North American model of bioethics is inadequate in the light of present global environmental and social circumstances. My most compelling recognition of such circumstances was a result of my work in healthcare in developing countries. During that experience I saw first hand some of the devastating effects of environmental disregard and destruction.
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