فصلنامه اخلاق زیستی
پیاپی 2 (زمستان 1390)

Four ethical principles with a shared application in bioethics are obtained from the convergence of thinkers in different social and global fields which are formed based on humanism originating from western culture. Although secular bioethics considers principles that can be extended worldwide and are related to all people and all ethical principles as a criterion to discuss ethical problems and present decision making models in the field of bioethics issues, it differs basically from various ethical schools of thought and cultures in terms of comparison and adaptation. These points of difference are more understandable in Abrahamian schools and religions specially Islam. This paper examines four bioethical principles in the Islamic law and jurisprudence and considering the clarity of its dimensions in the western cultures, the authors merely focus on the study of the subject from the point of view of the Islamic law and jurisprudence.

Biotechnological developments in the present age are making grounds for the outbreak of ethical challenges that responding to them has appeared in the show of the current paradigm in the ethical examinations of biotechnology and its normative components. Notwithstanding, the measurement of four principles of the contemporary biotechnological ethics and the observance of the noncoordination and necessary coherence among them indicates the divergence and ineffectiveness of the common theory in the biotechnological ethics in respect of its rules and principles. Also, the placement of these principles on humanism, individualism, liberal teachings, preference of the right over goodness and contractualism has driven the biotechnological ethics toward the destruction of the environment and human genetic reserves, uncontrolled megalomania in the man and relativism in the values and we observe obvious minimalism in the attitudes on justice and loss and benefit during the dominance of extreme pragmatistic and epicurean components over the virtual rationality in the common theory. Hence, for solving this problem in the complex and fully vital issues of the biotechnological ethics, coherent and harmonious principles arisen from the monotheistic thought must be drawn up emphasizing on the sacred spirituality so that the biotechnological ethics will be based on the pillars of such principles and in its light, the unruly and powerful horse of the newly-emerged biotechnology will be haltered by the practical wisdom arisen from sublime human values.

The issue of Organizational ethics in developed societies has been gradually institutionalized over the past half century as part of management science. Observing ethics and maintaining moral values have become the most important phenomena being noticed in most organizations. Organizational justice is a term used to describe the role that justice plays directly in connection with employment opportunities. In the organizational justice the ways in which the staff should be treated with are discussed, so that they feel that they have been dealt with justly. Based on the organizational justice, the reaction of the staff in respect of the presence or absence of organizational justice in their workplaces may be predicted. Both organizational morals and organizational justice are grounded in the concept of justice and include judgments on what is right or wrong.

Abortion is a serious issue in the medical ethics and its proponents and opponents have raised many arguments in its favor or against it. One of the arguments raised against abortion is the reasoning through potentiality. Some philosophers of ethics take the fertilization as the beginning moment of being a person and deem abortion wrong. Although some other scholars do not believe that a human seed becomes a human being at the moment of fertilization, yet they consider abortion as morally wrong from the very moment of fertilization at first sight. This paper argues for the ethical non-permissibility of abortion via the idea of potentiality, though assuming that an embryo is not regarded as a person since the moment of fertilization. In addition to the exposition of this argument some related criticisms have been mentioned and analyzed.

Human cloning as the most important development of the present century is the product of the advancements in science, biological and genetic technologies that has particularly affected the religious, ethical and even political circles. The imagination of the birth of a living being - especially human being- beyond the natural method and without using sex cells wonders everybody; as though the science now has demonstrated its art to the whole world. Finally we concluded that the human cloning is in conflict with the principles of Islamic bioethics. Thus, the human cloning must be banned. In this paper, through the library study, the human cloning has been analyzed based on the principles of Islamic bioethics and at the end we reached to the conclusion that the mentioned technology is in conflict with the principles of Islamic bioethics.

The whole creation has been based on nanostructures. During the evolutionary process, the toxic ingredients of nanostructure have been either deleted or adjusted with the bodies of the creatures. Man, today proceeds toward the synthesization and direct use of nanostructures and making it functional in all aspects of life. Although, because of unpredictable behaviors of nanostructure compared to their original forms, and their availability in nature, the possibility of misusing exists. Therefore, the ethical rules for synthesizing and the possible side effects of their production in the laboratory and industrial settings should be formulated. Furthermore, the proper and safe usage of these materials in human life, and natural environment should be highlighted. The implementation of strict rules may prevent from the occurrence of disasters that can be more dangerous than the discovery of radioactive ingredients of heavy elements and their connection with the formation of carcinoma cells.

Humankind has noticed the harmful consequences of the limitless exploitation of the nature and the emergence of a variety of pollutants in his environment. The environmental crisis that today affects most countries has originated from the mental and spiritual crisis. Islam has its own definition of the nature and the governing world over humans and the man himself. Natural phenomena are divine signs (Ayahs) and have meanings and aims in connection with God and are the mirrors of God’s attributes in addition to having divine origins. This matter may resolve the present environmental dilemmas through the adjustment of the man’s epistemological attitude and ethical and training behavior. Examining the epistemological, cosmological and anthropological fundamentals, explanation of the meaningfulness and the purposefulness of the creation world, as well as paying attention to the man himself and creating responsibility in him toward the beliefs and values are among the strengths of the Islam’s and some other religions’ attitudes on the utilization of the available resources in the nature.