Secular Bioethics
Engelhardt articulates the absence of morality is the foundation of secular immorality that binds moral strangers and its least in principles (Engelhardt, 1996). He argues that bioethical controversies, which include human cloning, genetic manipulation, and embryo experimentation, illustrate different accounts of social change in people’s moral life. He explains how these accounts have different religious and secular moral narratives, which mean that their morals have many decent points that are either guided by medical decision making or public policies. Over the years, there have been contemporary political struggles regarding bioethics and preventive health care concern of how to accomplish medical outcomes at the same time establishing laws that embrace moral understanding and enacting affirmative public policies (Engelhardt, 1996). However, Engelhardt argues, without appropriate honest content, people will be unable to make proper judgment or decision. In this case, he supports the drafting of good Christian bioethics to guide public policies, medical professionals and scientist to appeal various notions which are biased and all accounts that act against natural acts for instance abortion.
Bioethics seeks to shape medical decisions by appealing to current cultural fashion. However, to Engelhardt, as a consequence, there is a lack of authority to interfere with any choices of people who are acting due to the influence of secular bioethics. He also gives the empirical reality of moral pluralism and how secular rationality has limited ability to resolve ethical controversies since some reasons are unable to secure the foundation of universal morality, which might provide the biding content of full bioethics (Engelhardt, 1996). Engelhardt states that bioethics has brought out alternatives moralities that compete without having a principled basis, which makes people chose one moral over another. Bioethics has made morality no more than a matter of being controlled by cultural inclination, policies, and ideologies. Absent authentic appeal to God has made morality and bioethics demoralized and deflated due to their characters having legitimacy changes.
According to Engelhardt, secular Bioethics has made God appeal to be replaced with philosophical reflection, with the hopes that rational analysis will form content-full ethical morality policies. However, the philosophical thought has resulted in pluralism, conditioned either socially or historically. According to Engelhardt, without God, no binding bioethics perspective will sustain without creating a unique moral perspective (Engelhardt, 1996). Engelhardt encouraged re-ranking bioethics ethical principles, and changing conflicting accounts political rationale will be appropriate for the health care policy. It will be supported by different morals worldviews rather than a small group of individuals.
Overall, Engelhardt believed that Christian bioethics must be incorporated and that traditional Christianity should not be a lifestyle choice or a meta-narrative; instead, it should be a personal choice. He also stipulates that Christian bioethics should be appreciated, and authentic decisions should always be used with secular bioethics.
References
Engelhardt, H. T. (1996). The foundations of bioethics. Oxford University Press.