The hermeneutical dimension of the bioethical enterprise. Notes on the dialogical/narrative foundations of bioethics

Authors

  • Fernando Lolas Stepke Universidad de Chile

Abstract

Based on the challenges posed by the scientific activity of the author, related to the integration and harmonization of heterogeneous discourses, a hermeneutic framework for bioethics is stressed. It is mainly concerned with elucidating intentions, hidden meanings, and motivations of texts and behaviors that can be converted into texts. Equating the mimetic circle of Paul Ricoeur with the hermeneutical circle is advocated as a practical application. The importance of the hermeneutic approach suggests that it can also be applied to written productions in bioethics, since the history of this intellectual endeavor can be reformulated considering a reinterpretation of its record.

Keywords:

hermeneutics, bioethics, mimetic circle