African Ethno-Ethics and Bioethical Principlism: Implication for the Othered Patient

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Main author: Imafidon, Elvis
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id eprints-36889
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description This chapter affirms the importance of the ethno in African moral discourse with particular reference to bioethical discourse. It begins by showing that the deductions of moral theories – normative, meta or applied – from African thought are made possible through a deliberate and careful understanding of the ethno-ethics of African peoples often revolving around the concept of relationality or Ubuntu. It instantiates this by showing that the primary contribution of African bioethicists to the predominantly Western notion of principlism and its four cardinal principles of respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice is the principle of relationality which is extrapolated from African ethno-moral culture. If this is the case, the chapter asserts further that the understanding of who the othered patients are in an African bioethical context and how the principlist principle of relationality may be beneficial or harmful to them is only possible within the context of the ethno of personhood in African cultures. The chapter concludes by highlighting some practical ways healthcare providers can take the ethno and context more seriously in order to improve the quality of healthcare delivery to patients.
author_additional Agada, Ada
author_additionalStr Agada, Ada
format Book Chapters
author Imafidon, Elvis
author_facet Imafidon, Elvis
authorStr Imafidon, Elvis
author_letter Imafidon, Elvis
title African Ethno-Ethics and Bioethical Principlism: Implication for the Othered Patient
publisher Springer Nature
publishDate 2022
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/36889/

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