От биоэтики светской к биоэтике христианской: о значении наследия Х. Тристрама Энгельгардта в России

Abstract

A perception of “Christian bioethics” developed by the American philosopher Hugo Tristram Engelhardt in Russia requires a systematic interdisciplinary analysis. This is due to the realities of medical practice, as well as cultural and historical differences between the Russian and American societies. In Russia, there are certain difficulties in the open discussion of ethical issues in the public sphere. However, the recently growing participation of the Orthodox Church in public debates on the issues of medicine and biotechnology produce a basis for a reception of Engelhardt’s Christian bioethics. This article presents an analysis of how Engelhardt’s academic carrier was connected to his personal transformation, and how a “logical positivist” and physician interested in genetics, through his studies of continental philosophy, history of medicine, Catholicism and bioethics, came up finally as a founder of Christian bioethics based on Eastern Christian Orthodoxy. This analysis is purposed to expand the theoretical discussion of moral dilemmas posed at the intersection of medicine, religion and philosophy within the Russian academic discourse.