When Institutions Fail: Communitarianism and Spotlight

Communitarians argue that social identity is formed through the connection between individuals and their communities. The purpose of this study is to examine how the institution of journalism functions as part of a larger community. Media influence and are influenced by the larger social, cultural, legal, political, and economic systems in which they operate. This textual analysis focused on the breakdown of four Boston institutions—the Catholic Church, the police force, the justice system, and the daily newspaper—depicted in the film Spotlight. These institutions failed their community, allowing decades of sexual abuse to go unrecognized and unpunished—at least until the Spotlight team investigated allegations against Catholic priests. Through the lens of communitarian ethics, the researchers argue that stakeholders must recognize the need for a strong community from which the press can report, explain, correct, and connect.

South African traditional values and beliefs regarding informed consent and limitations of the principle of respect for autonomy in African communities: a cross-cultural qualitative study

Background The Western-European concept of libertarian rights-based autonomy, which advocates respect for individual rights, may conflict with African cultural values and norms. African communitarian ethics focuses on the interests of the collective whole or community, rather than rugged individualism. Hence collective decision-making processes take precedence over individual autonomy or consent. This apparent conflict may impact informed consent practice during biomedical research in African communities and may hinder ethical principlism in African bioethics. This study explored African biomedical researchers' perspectives regarding informed consent and potential limitations to the principle of respect for autonomy in African communities. Methods We conducted a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews with 12 biomedical researchers, five females and seven males aged 34 to 74 years, currently working at an African university. Interviews lasted 35–40 min each and involved semi-structured open-ended interviews, which allowed participants to offer information about their perceptions and feelings regarding respect for autonomy and informed consent as practised in Africa. Empirical data from the interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic content analysis, together with an interrogation of relevant scientific literature about African communitarian ethics, making evaluations and drawing inferences consistent with the empirical bioethics approach. Results Based on these interviews and analysis of relevant literature, we found that informed consent is difficult to apply in an African context because it derives from a Western conception of libertarian rights-based autonomy. Most respondents pointed out that it was challenging to implement informed consent in the African setting. Furthermore, communalism, customary beliefs, spirituality, and relational autonomy are predominant in most African communities, as exemplified by the African moral philosophies of Ubuntu/Botho and Ukama, which emphasize communitarianism over individual rights. We also found that language, education, poverty, and cultural beliefs are barriers to obtaining proper informed consent in African communities. Conclusions We conclude that there are limitations to applying the principle of respect for autonomy and informed consent in African communities, especially in the context of human biomedical research. We recommend using a more relational approach, such as Ross’s prima facie duties, to implement informed consent in African communities.

Security as care: communitarianism, social reproduction and gender in southern Israel

The article engages with feminist care theories and practices of community building in the context of armed conflict. Based on an ethnographic study (2016–2018) of the security concerns of Israeli citizens living in the Gaza Envelope and their positions regarding the siege on Gaza, we find that in this region, vernacular security is closely linked with care, social reproduction and communitarianism. Communitarian ethics is intertwined with separatist, state-centred discourses on national ‘trauma and resilience’. In this context, Jewish-Israeli women care for their own communities as a way to ensure survival and civilian resilience. They generally disengage from moral dilemmas concerning the suffering of Palestinians. On a deeper level, the practice of security as care combines the hegemonic Israeli security paradigm of women’s soldierhood with an institutional and cultural obsession with trauma-oriented activities. Showing strong ethno-nationalist identifications, these women tend to overlook and even support the state’s violent siege on Gaza, which is seen as a zero-sum game. We conclude that the gendered dimensions of communitarian ethics in Israel are relevant for understanding the limitations and challenges of contemporary cosmopolitan feminism and a global politics of care.

How Africa Should Engage Ubuntu Ethics and Artificial Intelligence

Automation of human tasks has taken place for a long time now. Humans have in earlier periods dreamed of a world where machines capable of mimicking decision making would be created with some works of fiction describing in caricature, how machines would take over the human space in the world. Artificial intelligence has come to fruition in the last few decades following the development of fast computing capability and vast chip memory. Discussions of how the human space will look and feel when artificial intelligence have taken place at various levels of global organization geared towards ensuring that the new “thinking machines” do not rock human society in ways to render them obsolete. This article looks at the ethics of AI considering the issues that have been outlined by others in the light of communitarian ethics as seen in Africa. It describes the possible impact of thinking machines on society and how individuals would relate with each other and with AI systems.

1. Ethics and Medical Law

This chapter discusses various aspects of ethics and medical law. It begins with a definition of medical law. It then covers the nature of illness, the scope of medicine, the sociological impact of being ill, UK health statistics, and general ethical principles. This is followed by discussions of the notion of rights; patients’ obligations; principlism; hermeneutics; casuistry; feminist medical ethics; care ethics; virtue ethics; and communitarian ethics. It also explains the role of theology, relativism, and pragmatism in medical ethics. The chapter also explores the links between ethics and law. It cannot be assumed that because something is unethical it must be unlawful, nor that everything unlawful is necessarily unethical.

Levinas and the Responsibility to Provide in Southeast Asia

Firstly, this chapter introducesLevinas’ ‘responsibility for the other’ notion as an alternative to the liberal and communitarian conceptions of responsibility and sovereignty. Both liberal and communitarian ethics are problematic because of theirshared assumption that responsibility is first and foremost to the self. The chapter introduces key features of Levinas’ ethics – the place and role of hospitality, reciprocity and justice in the responsibility for the other. It also examines how friendly critiques by interlocutors(Derrida, Ricoeur, Caputo, etc.) help moderate Levinas’ idealism without necessarily taking things in overly pragmatic or realist directions or, worse, blunting its moral force. Secondly, the chapter assesses the relevance of Levinas’ ethics to the questions of responsible sovereignty and the R2Provide in Southeast Asia. With reference to the regional conduct described in Chapters 4, 5 and 6, it is argued that Levinas’ ideas redefine the terms of the relationship between responsible providers and their recipients in three key ways: one, our assumptions and expectations over one’s extension of hospitality to one’s neighbours; two, the rethinking of mutuality and reciprocity between providers and recipients; and three, the ways in which the considerations for justice play out within the Southeast Asian context are concerned.