Myth of the Asian ethos
One of the biggest problems with this kind of dichotomy is that it ignores a variety of values, ideas, and movements inside a culture or an area. For example, Sakamoto uses the words “Asian ethos” even though there is no such thing as “the” Asian ethos. He writes in his paper: “The Japanese rejection of heart transplantation from the brain dead body was quite odd for Euro-American minds,” but concerning this topic, Japan was the exception among East Asian countries. Other East Asian countries, such as Taiwan, Korea, and the Philippines, performed organ transplants from brain dead donors in the 1980s. Sex selection and surrogate motherhood are becoming popular in Korea, but are still prohibited in Japan. With regard to reproductive technologies, Korea and the USA seem to share the same ethos.
The same is true in the “Western” countries. For example, Denmark and Germany went through a nation-wide debate on brain death in the late 1980s and 1990s. In Denmark, the ethics committee concluded in 1989 that brain death should not be human death. However, the report was rejected in the Diet in 1990. In Germany, a pregnant woman became brain dead in 1992, sparking a hot debate about whether she was dead or alive. In 1997, about 30 per cent of the Diet members supported a bill that did not define brain death as human death, but it was rejected. This outcome is very similar to the Japanese situation (Morioka 2001a). In Japan, 20-40 per cent of the Japanese constantly reject brain death. Siminoff and Bloch (1999) reported that even in the USA, 20-40 per cent of ordinary people felt hesitant to regard brain death as human death. In Europe and the USA, the number of donated organs has not [184/185] increased much in recent years. This shows that many family members may refuse to give consent to organ donation from brain dead persons.
As is evident here, there are a variety of values and ideas in a culture or an area, and in addition, it becomes clear that “Asia” and “the West” share lots of ideas and values on life and death. The East/West dichotomy oversimplifies this internal variation and neglects the common cultural heritage that many people share in various areas around the world.
>> To read more please visit:
Cross-cultural Approaches to the Philosophy of Life in the Contemporary World
(2004)
(You can read the entire text)
The same is true in the “Western” countries. For example, Denmark and Germany went through a nation-wide debate on brain death in the late 1980s and 1990s. In Denmark, the ethics committee concluded in 1989 that brain death should not be human death. However, the report was rejected in the Diet in 1990. In Germany, a pregnant woman became brain dead in 1992, sparking a hot debate about whether she was dead or alive. In 1997, about 30 per cent of the Diet members supported a bill that did not define brain death as human death, but it was rejected. This outcome is very similar to the Japanese situation (Morioka 2001a). In Japan, 20-40 per cent of the Japanese constantly reject brain death. Siminoff and Bloch (1999) reported that even in the USA, 20-40 per cent of ordinary people felt hesitant to regard brain death as human death. In Europe and the USA, the number of donated organs has not [184/185] increased much in recent years. This shows that many family members may refuse to give consent to organ donation from brain dead persons.
As is evident here, there are a variety of values and ideas in a culture or an area, and in addition, it becomes clear that “Asia” and “the West” share lots of ideas and values on life and death. The East/West dichotomy oversimplifies this internal variation and neglects the common cultural heritage that many people share in various areas around the world.
>> To read more please visit:
Cross-cultural Approaches to the Philosophy of Life in the Contemporary World
(2004)
(You can read the entire text)
posted by Masahiro Morioka at 11/13/2006 02:53:00 AM
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