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Language Politics

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics

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Abstract

Language politics is playing an increasingly important role in bioethics, both in a positive sense, which has recently been possible to attribute to it, and in the negative sense, which, since the sophists, traditionally belongs to it.

In the positive sense, language politics proceeds through the re-appreciation of concepts, promoting its accuracy, contributing to a better understanding of the situation, and facilitating the most adequate ethical decision. In the negative sense, language politics proceeds through the redefinition of concepts, reshaping reality following specific interests and leading to the adoption of certain practices accordingly. In this perspective, language politics affects the soundness and integrity of the ethical reflection and the objectivity and credibility of the decisions taken. Briefly, it affects the legitimacy of bioethics’ arguments and deliberations.

This entry describes the context that gives way to language politics, within the triangulation of thought, reality, and language, defines how it can take place, and reviews some paradigmatic examples of language politics in bioethics, both good and bad.

The way language politics can work and the impact it can have are presented through examples selected from different biomedical areas.

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Further Readings

  • Chadwick, R., Callahan, D., & Singer, P. (2012). Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics, 2nd edition, San Diego, Academic Press

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  • Ferrer Colomer, M., & Pastor, L. M. (2012). The preembryo’s short lifetime. The history of a word. Cuadernos de Bioética, 23(79), 677–694.

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  • Folscheid, D., Feuillet-Le Mintier, B., & Mattei, J.-F. (1997). Philosophie, éthique et droit de la medicine. Paris: PUF.

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  • Kass, L. R. (2002). Human cloning and human dignity, The report of the President’s Council on Bioethics. New York: Public Affairs.

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  • Oderberg, D. (2000). Applied ethics, a non-consequentialist approach. Oxford: Blackwell.

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  • Pence, G. E. (1990). Classic cases in medical ethics. Account of the cases that have shaped medical ethics, with philosophical, legal, and historical backgrounds. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reich, W. (1995). Encyclopedia of Bioethics. New York: Macmillan

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioethics Research Centre, Bioethics Institute, Catholic University of Portugal, Porto, Portugal

    M. Patrão Neves

Authors
  1. M. Patrão Neves
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Correspondence to M. Patrão Neves .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Duquesne University Center for Healthcare Ethics, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Henk ten Have

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Neves, M.P. (2014). Language Politics. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_262-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_262-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-05544-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Religion and PhilosophyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Humanities

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