The medical ethics of non‐Western cultures are not as cleanly differentiated from the rest of their religious and cultural value systems as they are in the West. There the traditional medical ethic of organized professional medicine is summarized in the Hippocratic Oath and the tradition surrounding it. This ethic that guides health care professionals is often in conflict with religious and philosophical traditions that provide more general ethical frameworks. By contrast, in non‐Western cultures, medical ethical questions are often addressed in the core ethics literature of the group, such as religious texts and philosophical writings.

The ancient cultures of Asia provide an example. Generally, they turn to classical texts for their medical ethical insights.