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Prof. Pawel Bortkiewicz |
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Inspiration for my lecture comes from the words of John Paul II which he said in 1987 at the oldest Polish university. The Pope pointed out that in spite of the fall of totalitarian ideologies, the controversy about man continues. At the core of this controversy is an anthropological error. It consists in a distortion of the truth about man as well as in an inadequate description and concept of the human person. Among the consequences of this controversy, one that is crucial and even decisive for the future is bioethics. Being aware of what J. Garrou calls radical evolution, in my lecture I indicate the background of the phenomena in question – the breaking of man’s psychophysical unity and subjection of human “parts” to technological processes according to utilitarian goals. This is what is being done with the human “body” (genetic material, the embryo, fetal tissue) as well as with the “soul” (psycho-manipulations, the challenges of neuroethics).
Without going into the details of such issues, I wish to present the vision of man according to Karol Wojtyla – John Paul II. It is a vision rooted in the experience of a poet, philosopher, theologian and pastor. It is unique. Essentially, it is a negative anthropology in the sense that it does not formulate an ultimate definition of man but rather reveals the human inner self in the perspective of dialogue with others, the world and above all with God. It is also an adequate anthropology as it expresses conformity of the description and concept of the human person with the truth about man discerned in a natural and supernatural perspective. It is a concept of the human person who is free according to the measure of truth he perceives about himself and realizes this freedom through acts of love. This concept can help in shaping a personalistic bioethics. |
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