Bioethics is a fairly new, but very popular, discipline broadly present in the public debate of the Western Societies. It deals with difficult tasks and challenges faced by scientists to find ethical, social or political solutions to various problems created by modern science and technological growth. An impressive exploration of several bioethical issues can be found in the works of the Polish Jesuit, philosopher and, now a retired professor, Tadeusz Ślipko. For decades, his scientific attention, apart from theoretical topics, was (...) focused on the issues important to everyday human life. He placed a lot of emphasis on finding ethical solutions to the difficult issues discussed in the postwar Poland. He authored the first Polish ethical monograph devoted exclusively to modern problems of medical and technological development and titled Limits of Life. Dilemmas of the Modern Bioethics, first published in 1988 and reprinted in 1994. (shrink)

Bioethics is a fairly new, but very popular, discipline broadly present in the public debate of the Western Societies. It deals with difficult tasks and challenges faced by scientists to find ethical, social or political solutions to various problems created by modern science and technological growth. An impressive exploration of several bioethical issues can be found in the works of the Polish Jesuit, philosopher and, now a retired professor, Tadeusz Ślipko. For decades, his scientific attention, apart from theoretical topics, was (...) focused on the issues important to everyday human life. He placed a lot of emphasis on finding ethical solutions to the difficult issues discussed in the postwar Poland. He authored the first Polish ethical monograph devoted exclusively to modern problems of medical and technological development and titled Limits of Life. Dilemmas of the Modern Bioethics, first published in 1988 and reprinted in 1994. (shrink)

We współczesnych dyskusjach dotyczących szczegółowych zagadnień z zakresu etyki medycznej sporo uwagi poświęca się kwestii odstąpienia od interwencji medycznej lub zasadności stosowania pewnych rodzajów terapii nie rokujących poprawy stanu zdrowia chorej osoby. W publikacjach autorów chrześcijańskich tematyka ta nie zajmowała nigdy centralnego miejsca, aczkolwiek różnego typu kwestie dotyczące kontynuacji bądź przerwania leczenia znaleźć można już na kartach wczesnochrześcijańskich filozoficznych i teologicznych traktatów i rozpraw. Dopiero współcześnie w związku z szybkim rozwojem nauk medycznych poświęca się temu zagadnieniu więcej uwagi. Niniejszy artykuł (...) przedstawia poglądy wybranych wczesnochrześcijańskich i scholastycznych myślicieli na kwestię odstąpienia od interwencji medycznych. Zachowane do naszych czasów teksty i opinie różnych autorów pozwoli nam, w pewnym stopniu, zrozumieć historyczny kontekst oraz kulturowe uwarunkowania proponowanych wówczas rozstrzygnięć etycznych. (shrink)

We współczesnych dyskusjach dotyczących szczegółowych zagadnień z zakresu etyki medycznej sporo uwagi poświęca się kwestii odstąpienia od interwencji medycznej lub zasadności stosowania pewnych rodzajów terapii nie rokujących poprawy stanu zdrowia chorej osoby. W publikacjach autorów chrześcijańskich tematyka ta nie zajmowała nigdy centralnego miejsca, aczkolwiek różnego typu kwestie dotyczące kontynuacji bądź przerwania leczenia znaleźć można już na kartach wczesnochrześcijańskich filozoficznych i teologicznych traktatów i rozpraw. Dopiero współcześnie w związku z szybkim rozwojem nauk medycznych poświęca się temu zagadnieniu więcej uwagi. Niniejszy artykuł (...) przedstawia poglądy wybranych wczesnochrześcijańskich i scholastycznych myślicieli na kwestię odstąpienia od interwencji medycznych. Zachowane do naszych czasów teksty i opinie różnych autorów pozwoli nam, w pewnym stopniu, zrozumieć historyczny kontekst oraz kulturowe uwarunkowania proponowanych wówczas rozstrzygnięć etycznych. (shrink)

The Hellenic medical ideas have found appreciation among people over centuries. Though the initial concept remained the same, methods or ways to achieve desired aims have changed. Since Hippocrates, new generations of physicians have worked hard to find more powerful types of therapies to relieve their patients and make treatment less burdensome. The struggle of medicine is very specific and requires, apart from practical skills, a clear personal commitment to help people wisely. From the Early Antiquity, both medicine and medical (...) ethics go together. Wherever Hippocratic medicine is practiced, an appropriate moral pattern accompanies it because the Hellenic doctor offered purely clinical data and his art should not be separated from anthropology, ethics and religion. (shrink)

The Hellenic medical ideas have found appreciation among people over centuries. Though the initial concept remained the same, methods or ways to achieve desired aims have changed. Since Hippocrates, new generations of physicians have worked hard to find more powerful types of therapies to relieve their patients and make treatment less burdensome. The struggle of medicine is very specific and requires, apart from practical skills, a clear personal commitment to help people wisely. From the Early Antiquity, both medicine and medical (...) ethics go together. Wherever Hippocratic medicine is practiced, an appropriate moral pattern accompanies it because the Hellenic doctor offered purely clinical data and his art should not be separated from anthropology, ethics and religion. (shrink)

This article presents a general overview of philosophical issues undertaken in the work of Richard Otowicz, Jesuit and Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Warsaw. Within the set of views developed by him, the theological perspective undoubtedly assumes pride of place. Often, however, he refers to philosophical issues from which, in his opinion, one cannot escape—issues that bear directly on human life. What is especially striking is Otowicz’s hypothesis that bioethics is a kind of self-defense (...) reflex of mankind, who are attempting by means of it to intellectually grasp the issues relating to the unlimited expansion of technology. Developments and changes observed in the world are forcing humanity to rethink very fundamental issues, such as interpersonal relationships or the relationship of man to nature. (shrink)

This article presents a general overview of philosophical issues undertaken in the work of Richard Otowicz, Jesuit and Professor of Moral Theology at the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Warsaw. Within the set of views developed by him, the theological perspective undoubtedly assumes pride of place. Often, however, he refers to philosophical issues from which, in his opinion, one cannot escape—issues that bear directly on human life. What is especially striking is Otowicz’s hypothesis that bioethics is a kind of self-defense (...) reflex of mankind, who are attempting by means of it to intellectually grasp the issues relating to the unlimited expansion of technology. Developments and changes observed in the world are forcing humanity to rethink very fundamental issues, such as interpersonal relationships or the relationship of man to nature. (shrink)