Against Relativism: Cultural Diversity and the Search for Ethical Universals in Medicine [Hardcover]

Ruth Macklin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195116321 | ISBN-13: 978-0195116328 | Publication Date: March 4, 1999 | Edition: 1

This book analyzes the debate surrounding cultural diversity and its implications for ethics. If ethics are relative to particular cultures or societies, then it is not possible to hold that there are any fundamental human rights. The author examines the role of cultural tradition, often used as a defense against critical ethical judgments, and explores key issues in health and medicine in the context of cultural diversity: the physician-patient relationship, disclosing a diagnosis of a fatal illness, informed consent, brain death and organ transplantation, rituals surrounding birth and death, female genital mutilation, sex selection of offspring, fertility regulation, and biomedical research involving human subjects. Among the conclusions the author reaches are that ethical universals exist but must not be confused with ethical absolutes. The existence of ethical universals is compatible with a variety of culturally relative interpretations, and some rights related to medicine and health care should be considered human rights. Illustrative examples are drawn from the author's experiences serving on international ethical review committees and her travels to countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where she conducted educational workshops and carried out her own research.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book is rich with examples that are taken from medicine and health care and are intended to show that there are ethical universals, norms and values that have cross-cultured validity. The problem is highly interesting and has great practical value in this era of increasingly multicultural society and globalisation."--Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy 2001

"Macklin shows very clearly the importance of distinguishing between the justifiability of a universal principle and its applicability in concrete situation."--Medicine, Health Care and Philosophy, 2001

About the Author

Ruth Macklin is at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (March 4, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195116321
• ISBN-13: 978-0195116328
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,548 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars clearly written, closely argued, February 8, 2006

By 

Nils Kelly (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against Relativism: Cultural Diversity and the Search for Ethical Universals in Medicine (Hardcover)

A friend who works in the area of human rights lent me this as a result of a conversation we had. Though perhaps not a book for the general reader, Macklin's writing is unusually clear for an academic. Most anthropology and sociology writing I have encountered is impenetrable, full of jargon and bloat.

Macklin presents a variety of problems facing human rights workers worldwide. Generally they demonstrate the difficulty of providing "universal" human rights to persons within cultures in which those rights conflict with traditional practice. A common argument against the application of a universal human right that conflicts with local tradition is that it is ethical imperialism--that you (ie the Westerner) have no right to impose your values on our culture--there is no "better" or "worse" set of values, only yours, and ours. You do not have the right to criticize the practices of a culture, from outside that culture. Thus do many customs considered abhorrent by the "west" find justification in this "relativist" rationale.

She discusses issues such as female genital mutilation, informed consent by doctors, the definition of death, organ transplantation, the reproductive rights of women, and the rights of individual women vs the rights of their families. Macklin describes each case in full context then carefully picks her way through, arriving at well-argued conclusions.

Excellent reading, even for a non-specialist.