Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics

Vilhjálmur Árnason’s Call for Expanding Bioethical Discourse

Margit Sutrop — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This article explores Vilhjálmur Árnason’s critique of contemporary bioethics, particularly its limited focus on individualistic principles, and its neglect of the broader social implications of emerging technologies. Vilhjálmur¹ argues that the commonly used “four principles approach”—respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice—is inadequate for addressing the complex ethical and societal impacts of new technologies. He suggests that ethical evaluations must extend beyond immediate individual risks to consider broader societal consequences.

In critiquing overly individual-centered bioethical frameworks, Vilhjálmur raises a critical theoretical question: what kind of ethical theory does bioethics truly require? This examination considers whether Vilhjálmur’s critique of the four-principles approach is justified and whether a more expansive ethical framework or theory of value is needed to specify and rank bioethical principles. By scrutinizing collective values like solidarity and the notion that “the personal is political” this paper suggests that new layers of disagreement arise, moving beyond traditional debates over moral theories. In a diverse society with conflicting values, such conflicts may be unavoidable. However, by highlighting the interconnection between individual moral agency and socio-political context, Vilhjálmur underscores the importance of self-reflection on personal values and the need to seek understanding across differing viewpoints in bioethical discussions.

Keywords: bioethics, personalized medicine, genetic database, four-principles approach, principlism, pluralism, value, ethical theory, personal is political, socio-political context

Ethical relations, a connecting theme in Vilhjálmur Árnason’s work on Icelandic sagas, public deliberation, and encounters between patients and professionals

Henrik Lerner — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This paper will explore two strands of Vilhjálmur Árnason’s extensive body of work: his analysis of dialogue ethics within medical ethics and his analysis of ethics in the Icelandic sagas. The central thesis is that combining these two strands, bioethics and literary analysis, can provide valuable insights to further the discussion of ethics among citizens in multicultural communities.

Vilhjálmur’s¹ analysis of the Icelandic sagas shows that the sagas have a specific value foundation, specific virtues as well as narrative in how to present the ethical aspects. In the field of bioethics, he has developed the study of dialogue ethics in several aspects, such as between patient and professional, in interdisciplinary research, and in public deliberation. By integrating insights from historic literary studies with contemporary bioethical research we gain an interesting platform for a discussion on Western assumptions of what constitutes a good dialogue. One of the core aspects in dialogue ethics is how to develop the procedure for a fair, open-minded, and oppression-free discussion in ethical issues. Vilhjálmur’s contributions are summarized here, but could they also be extended beyond the Icelandic and Western horizon?

I will compare his ethical framework to a recent parallel discussion on the claims of indigenous peoples for a fair dialogue. That is, a dialogue that must be inclusive with a carefulness about deciding the foundation of inherent values and the procedure of how to perform the dialogue. Finally, I draw conclusions on what dialogue ethics will gain from this explorative work.

Keywords: dialogue ethics, one health approaches, Indigenous peoples, bioethics, interdisciplinarity, ethics in the Icelandic sagas, medical ethics, literary analysis, multicultural communities

From consent to authorization

Bjørn Hofmann — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The turn from traditional paternalism and towards patient autonomy has made informed consent a key concept for medical ethics and health legislation. However, informed consent has been attacked for a wide range of shortcomings, both conceptually and theoretically, as well as practically. Vilhjálmur Árnason has suggested an alternative to informed consent, i.e., to give authorizations. Vilhjálmur¹ has been supported by other researchers, but the authorization approach has not been elaborated in any greater detail or come to widespread use in bioethics. This article describes and discusses Vilhjálmur’s and other scholars’ approach to authorizations and reflects on why this approach deserves more attention than previously given, especially for addressing the extended challenges emerging from biological sciences generating a wide range of person-related biological entities.

Keywords: informed consent, authorization, bioethics, medical ethics, patient autonomy, biobank research, dynamic consent, broad consent, genetic research ethics, ethical challenges in biobanking, , PeRBEs, AI/ML

Ethics of life and death: changes in the book's content – and the philosopher‘s thinking?

Svava Sigurdardottir — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Over the last four decades, Vilhjálmur Árnason professor emeritus in philosophy, has been at the forefront in the academic fields of moral and political philosophy, and medical – and bioethics in Iceland. His research and in-depth understanding of the ethical aspects of medicine and life sciences in Icelandic society are demonstrated by his extensive written work on these issues. In 1993, the first edition of his book Ethics of life and death was published in Iceland, a comprehensive book on ethical issues related to healthcare, research, and public health. A second and improved edition of the book was published in 2003, and a German version in 2004. The third and latest edition was published in August 2023, which takes into account developments in the aforementioned fields in recent years, and as before with a particular focus on Iceland.

The contents of this influential book will be discussed in this article, with special emphasis on comparing current subjects with previous editions. Moreover, it will be addressed if and how Árnason‘s thinking and perspective have changed over the years.

Context-sensitive Dialogues

Vilhjalmur Arnason — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This article reflects on the central themes of Vilhjálmur Árnason's work, particularly his focus on contextualized morality and dialogical ethics. Vilhjálmur emphasizes the importance of balancing individual freedom and responsibility with an understanding of social and political contexts. By examining relational ethics across healthcare, research, and public health, the article highlights his contributions to bioethics, including concepts like informed consent, scientific citizenship, and authorization in biobank research. Vilhjálmur¹ advocates for communicative reasoning and authentic dialogue as essential tools for ethical analysis, situational decision-making, and fostering trust in research and healthcare practices. The work underscores the importance of trustworthiness, veracity, and participatory engagement in addressing modern ethical challenges, particularly in rapidly advancing biotechnologies.

Keywords: Contextual ethics, dialogical ethics, relational autonomy, informed consent, authorization, bioethics, trustworthiness, communicative reasoning, healthcare ethics, public health ethics, scientific citizenship, biobank research

Editorial: Special issue on the work of Vilhjálmur Árnason

Kadri Simm, Bjørn Hofmann — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The editorial introduces the rationale for putting together the special issue on the works of Vilhjalmur Arnason, discusses some of the main themes of his corpus and gives and overview of the published commentaries.

Constructive inquiry amidst fear and polarization

Allen Alvarez, May Thorseth — Fri, 27 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

What’s the beef with cultivated meat?

Henrik Andersson, Andrés Garcia — Mon, 02 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Artificially cultivated meat may have environmental benefits and harm-reductive capabilities, making it crucial to establishing ethical food production practices. However, we argue that salient factors make producing and consuming artificially cultivated meat morally problematic. We detail some of these factors and highlight their roots in different ethical traditions. These factors present serious challenges to the moral permissibility of its production and consumption. We conclude that artificially cultivated meat is unlikely to be the best solution to today’s unethical food production practices.

Keywords: cultivated meat, lab-grown meat, vegetarianism, animal rights, ethics

Jet Travel and Desert

Sean Clancy — Sun, 24 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Jet aircraft produce large quantities of greenhouse gases when in operation, so one way for an agent to reduce her individual greenhouse gas emissions is by reducing the extent to which she flies. Some groups have encouraged agents to give up on flying for life by committing to a “travel pledge”. I argue here that, for many agents, it is morally impermissible to commit to a lifelong travel pledge, because in doing so, they would prevent themselves from receiving what they deserve. Most agents who commit to such a pledge exercise a great deal of virtue, and therefore deserve to have their lives go better, while also making a significant sacrifice, thus ensuring that their lives go worse. Because a single person’s travel pledge cannot make a significant difference to the progress of climate change, the morally desirable effects of such a pledge are outweighed by the morally undesirable effects on desert.

Keywords: climate change; flight; travel; desert; altruism