Bioethics and biopolitics in cultivating bios and biotopes

Abstract

For millennia, religions and cultures all over the world have recognized the interdependence and interaction of all forms of life; prophets, educators and rulers called for charity, health and happiness not only of individuals but also of families, communities and of animals and birds in natural and cultural biotopes. Fritz Jahr defined the Bioethical Imperative - ‘Respect every living being as an end in itself and treat it, if possible, as such’- as an orientational tool for compassionate and competent human life and culture in healthy natural and social biotopes. Medicine is more than a repair shop for human bodies; caring for the health of fellow humans requires both, expertise and ethics, competence and compassion. This paper reviews visions and rules in the ethics and politics of bios across cultures and stresses the importance of bioethics and biopolitics for the 21th century.