Beninese therapeutic pluralism. Historical roots and bioethical issues

Abstract

Retracing the history of the spread of modern medicine in the former Kingdom of Dahomey, now the Republic of Bénin (sub-Saharan Western Africa), aims to provide a peculiar perspective of colonial domination that, as well known, has dramatically passed through the form of controlling bodies that is not wrong to define as "biopolitical". The aim of the essay is attempting to show how the gesture aimed at trampling the cultural identity of the people of Benin. Passing through the denial of traditional therapeutic culture - which is disregarded, as to this day the primary medical reference remains that of traditional medicine - re-proposes itself in forms that are apparently opposites in the attempt, only theoretical, of contemporary politics to recover and defend the local therapeutic tradition, conjecturing hypothetical forms of peaceful and equal coexistence between traditional and modern medicine. The angle of intercultural bioethics, far from the long-standing multiculturalism, will allow us to have a glimpse into the emerging ethical-political dilemmas regarding this issue, as well as underline how the defense of therapeutic traditions, ascribable to the right of cultural identity, represents a form of guarantee of the human and of his rights. A true "white man's burden", to consider responsibly in the perspective of an inclusive citizenship, on which in today's times it’s urgent to reflect upon.