Language in Bioethics: Beyond the Representational View

This article encourages a more linguistically engaged bioethics. We describe the tacit conception of language that is frequently upheld in bioethics-what we call the representational view, which sees language essentially as a means of description. We examine how this view has routed the field's theories and interventions down certain paths. We present an alternative model of language-the pragmatic view-and explore how it expands and clarifies traditional bioethical concerns. To lend concreteness, we apply the pragmatic view to a pervasive concept in bioethics and adjacent fields: decision making. We suggest that problems of the decision-making approach to bioethical issues are grounded in adherence to the representational view. Drawing on empirical work in surgery and critical care, we show how the pragmatic view productively reframes bioethical questions about how medical treatments are pursued.PMID:38626326 | DOI:10.1080/15265161.2024.2337394

Source: The American Journal of Bioethics : AJOB - April 16, 2024 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Justin T Clapp Jacqueline M Kruser Margaret L Schwarze Rachel A Hadler Source Type: research