A relação entre ética e medicina na visão de Hans Jonas

Abstract

The reason for study the relationship between ethics and medicine in Hans Jonas' point of view was not only the admiration for his ideas, but also for his life: he was born in 1903 in Mönchengladbach (Germany) and was a mentee of Husserl, Heidegger and Bultmann. He also volunteered in World War II, drew attention to the need of conservation of our planet and all its forms of life and sought the basis for new ethics of responsibility. In order to explore the relationship between ethics and medicine in the perception of the contemporary German philosopher, we will take the following route: in the first chapter, we will address the perception he makes about pre-modern and modern techniques; in the second chapter we will highlight the aspects that led him to consider that although the modern technique brings the promise of better life, it is contradictory and carry apocalyptic potential, which requires to think about ethical and human responsibility. Finally, we analyze the relationship between ethics and medicine from Jonas’ perspective based on five essential points of modern technique that point to the essential of ethical concepts that includes medical practices: (i) the uncertainty of its effects, (ii) the requirement of its application, (iii) its global dimensions in space and time, (iv) the break with anthropocentrism and (v) the emergence of the metaphysical question.