Abstract

AZEVEDO, Maria Alice da Silva. Origins of Bioethics. Nascer e Crescer [online]. 2010, vol.19, n.4, pp.255-259. ISSN 0872-0754.

Bioethics may be understood as a science, a discipline or a social movement intervention. Fundamentally it deals with the actions of human beings and the consequences of these actions, and it attempts to improve the realities of life and living. Bioethics is the basis for considerations on the ways in which rational human beings manage to continue the species and how they relate to each other and to their environment. One of the founders of Bioethics, the humanist professional Van Potter, considered it to be “a bridge, to a future with dignity and quality of human life”, where responsibility becomes the most important dimension of its effectiveness, whether in practical or applied ethics. In the present century, it is our duty to promote Bioethics as a means of facilitating intercultural dialogues, since it allows us to better become conscious and to apprehend the problems in life.

Keywords : Bioethics; dignity; responsibility.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )