The personalism of John Paul II as an inspiration for the teaching of bioethics in Cuba

Abstract

Personalist bioethics may offer a viable approach to overcoming the problem of ethics education in research within the biomedical sciences in Cuba. In contemporary societies, personal and social life is influenced by moral relativism and ethical permissiveness, which can undermine the original foundations of fundamental life values. Drawing on the personalism of Karol Wojtyla, this analysis seeks to identify elements in his life and work that constitute an anthropological and ethical resource for questions related to the human person. Both in his philosophical work, Person and action, and in the teachings of John Paul II, his speeches and homilies during his 1998 trip to Cuba, the following inspiring themes are identified: truth, freedom, responsibility, science and conscience, and science and truth. All of these are lines of thought to consider when addressing the problem of teaching and applying bioethics in Cuba. Given the secular, utilitarian, and pragmatic perspectives of several contemporary models, ethical discernment is presented as an educational tool. This article is part of a doctoral research project that seeks to identify, in the life and work of the author studied, the ontological, epistemological, and anthropological foundations of ethics, thus enabling the development of a theoretical framework to serve as a basis for teaching ethics and bioethics in the Cuban biosanitary sector.