著者
土屋 健三郎
出版者
日本医学哲学・倫理学会
雑誌
医学哲学 医学倫理 (ISSN:02896427)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.12, pp.75-89, 1994-10-01 (Released:2018-02-01)

The President's Address which I gave at the first entrance ceremony of the University of Occupational Environmental Health held in 1978 was entitled "The Mission of the University." The first article stated: "This university should educate students to become doctors who philosophize for themselves throughout their lives." The verb "philosophize" means to reflect seriously on great matters such as life and death,mind and body, etc. A philosophizing doctor integrates science and humanism with his or her person. In modern industrialized society, technology-oriented scientists and physicians tend to view nature as a set of external objects free for artificial intervention. This tendency presents many hazardous problems of bioethics. Modern Western rationalism is responsible for much of excessive dominance of science and technology. In contrast Oriental thinking views human life as being harmoniously incorporated in nature. In order to survive, the world must find a way to unify Oriental humanism with Western humanism. Although modern scientific technology has elevated the standard of living, it has also caused the destruction of nature. Here another controversial problem emerges; that is, whether or not satisfying human desires takes precedence over the sanctity of life and nature. This problem requires us to establish new environmental ethics. If we merely stand on either the biological view of life or the person-centered view of life, we understand life in utilitarian terms and do not realize the intrinsic meaning of life. To establish both the new bioethics and environmental ethics, we should regard the standpoint which sees life as a matter of quality and the nature-centered view as important. If human beings do something because they have the technique to do it, it may lead them to a self-destructive end. I believe that human beings should have a modest attitude toward life and nature.