ANTHROPOLOGY, BIOETHICS, AND MEDICINE - A PROVOCATIVE TRILOGY

This article investigates the contributions anthropological perspectiv es can make to the field of bioethics. Four dimensions of an anthropol ogical approach to bioethics are presented: the contextual nature of b ioethical dilemmas; the cultural embeddedness of moral systems; the cu lturally pluralistic character of many bioethical problems; and the ex amination of the field of bioethics as a cultural phenomenon. The disc ussion explores how moral dilemmas and the means to resolve them are i nextricably bound to their institutional, economic, and social context s, how different cultural systems have different moral codes with diff erent standards for behavior, and how bioethical conflicts often arise in culturally plural health care settings. In addition, it discusses the challenge offered to anthropologists to examine the values, cognit ive framework, and social organization of bioethics. The article concl udes with a discussion of ways that anthropological methods and knowle dge can be applied in the bioethics arena.