Bioethics and Jainism
From Ahiṃsā to an Applied Ethics of Carefulness
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4313367 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brianne Donaldson (Rice University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 243 |
| Publication date | 2019-04-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Religions (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444 |
| Publisher | MDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT) |
| DOI | 10.3390/rel10040243 |
| OpenAlex | W2929912584 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
Although Jainism has been largely absent from discourses in bioethics and religion, its rich account of life, nonviolence, and contextual ethical response has much to offer the discussion within and beyond the Jain community. In this essay, I explore three possible reasons for this discursive absence, followed by an analysis of medical treatment in the Jain tradition-from rare accommodations in canonical texts to increasing acceptance in the post-canonical period, up to the present. I argue that the nonviolent restraint required by the ideal of ahiṃsā is accompanied by applied tools of carefulness (apramatta) that enable the evolution of medicine. These applied tools are derived from the earliest canonical strata and offer a distinct contribution to current bioethical discourses, demanding a more robust account of: (1) pervasive life forms; (2) desires and aversions that motivate behavior; (3) direct and indirect modes of harm; and (4) efforts to reduce harm in one's given context. I conclude by examining these tools of carefulness briefly in light of contemporary Jain attitudes toward reproductive ethics, such as abortion and in vitro fertilization
Bioethics · Epistemology · Harm · Medical ethics · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · Ethics in medical practice · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology
Studies in Jaina History and Culture
Riches and Renunciation
The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism
Handbook of Bioethics and Religion
Jainism and Environmental Philosophy
The Scientization and Academization of Jainism
Heroic Wives Rituals, Stories and the Virtues of Jain Wifehood
History of Jaina Monachism from Inscriptions and Literature
Religion in the Everyday Lives of Second-Generation Jains in Britain and the USA
| Highly cited | No |
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