BIO-ETHICAL DISCOURSE IN THE LIGHT OF THE VALUE OF LIFE IN AFRICAN ONTOLOGY

Abstract

Bioethics means “life ethics”. It covers areas like treatment of dying patients, mercy death, mercy killing, abortion, population and birth control measures, human experimentation, genetics, fertilization, health care delivery and its costs, sterilization, etc. The advancement of science and technology growth and development in these areas have raised a retinue of questions, which bio-ethics endeavours to respond to. As bio-ethics responds to these questions, several articles have emerged on bioethics, however, this paper distinguishes itself by its study of the concept and value of the human life and person in African ontology, with a particular focus on the Igbo concept of life and the Yoruba concept of person. This research is very significant given that we are at a time when the Western mechanistic concept of life or bioethics is heavily dominating the understanding of life, therefore, creating exclusivity in this dialogue on life. For this paper, the multidimensional method of inquiry will be employed. This is based on the multidimensional character of bioethics. The research submits that the African perspective can add value to global bioethical discourse.