The perspectives of interdisciplinary contribution between sociology and bioethics

Abstract

The paper analyzes potential interdisciplinary relations between bioethics and sociology while dealing with current ethical dilemmas. The paradigmatic and conceptual differences to the framework of ethical-social problems between bioethical and sociological academic disciplines are revealed. Traditionally ethical problems such as patient’s rights in medicine, justification of biomedical research, euthanasia, cloning tend to be argued employing empirical argumentation and methodology of social research. The paper explores why the results of sociological studies (such as public opinion polls) are frequently ignored in the context of bioethics as well as medical sociology delimits the philosophical-ethical argumentation such as application of normative principles. New theoretical approaches – sociology of bioethics as well as bioethics in sociology are presented. The potential collaboration between social sciences and bioethics as well
as mutual integration of different experts to interdisciplinary discussion in decisionmaking are disputed.