Abstract
Applying religious teachings to legal concepts and determinations is always a challenge. Professor Zhang has given us a means to consider Buddhism’s teaching related to human dignity, rights and freedom as stated in the Declaration of Human Rights and the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. She has pointed out that the concept of “human rights” is not directly addressed by Buddhism but is not incompatible with Buddhist tradition. Zhang approaches this by discussing the Declaration of Human Rights (1948) which discussed “the rights of every individual” and how these are protected in legal form. She correctly points out that dignity, rights and freedoms are often based in the idea of self-determination.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Fuji, Masao. 1991. Buddhism and bioethics. In Theological developments in bioethics: 1988 1990, Bioethics Yearbook, vol. 1, 61–68. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Hewaparthirane, D. 2001. Buddhism, healing and wellbeing. Wisdom 9 (1): 6–8.
Hongladarom, S. 2009. Privacy, the individual and genetic information: A Buddhist perspective. Bioethics 23: 403–412. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8519.2009.01716.x.
Hughes, J. 2007. Buddhist bioethics. In Principles of health care ethics, ed. R.E. Ashcroft, A. Dawson, H. Draper, and J.R. McMillan, 2nd ed. Chichester: Wiley. doi:10.1002/9780470510544.ch17.
Meyer, J. 2005. Buddhism and death: The brain-centered criteria. Journal of Buddhist Ethics 12: 1–24. doi: 1076-9005.
Ratanakul, P. 1998. Bioethics in Thailand: The struggle for Buddhist solutions. The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 13: 301–312.
Sorajjakool, S., and S. Nawwbood. 2010. Buddhism. In World religions for healthcare professionals, ed. S. Sorajjakool, M. Carr, and J. Nam. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gallagher, C.M. (2017). A Response to Ellen Zhang’s “On Human Rights and Freedom in Biomedical Ethics: A Philosophical Inquiry in Light of Buddhism”. In: Tham, J., Kwan, K., Garcia, A. (eds) Religious Perspectives on Bioethics and Human Rights. Advancing Global Bioethics, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58431-7_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58431-7_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-58429-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-58431-7
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)