Fritz Jahr (1895-1953) is considered the 'father of bioethics', as he was the first person to use the term. This was captured in 1927, after the pastor and theologian published an editorial in a German magazine called Kosmos dealing with natural science issues.
It was very curious that Kosmos agreed to publish the writing of a Protestant pastor who had not previously shown any kind of contribution to science. However, this allowed Jahr to explain in a more developed way his idea about bioethics and the universal bioethical imperative in other articles.
Source: National Library of Medicine.
The virtue of Jahr, and what perhaps convinced the editors of the journal (considered at the level of those existing today Nature or Science) was the idea of adding a new term. Furthermore, the concept of bioethics was of great importance because it served to replace the idea of the formal categorical imperative that Kant previously proposed.
Biography
Fritz Jahr's life is rather a mystery. In fact, until a few years ago the American scientist Van Rensselaer Potter (1911-2001) was considered the person who invented the term bioethics. This idea changed when in 1997 the biologist Rolf Löther spoke about Fritz Jahr, to whom he attributed the creation of the term.
Löther's claim spread rapidly and studies began on who Jahr was and everything related to his life. His work was thoroughly investigated, but not all the exact details of his private life are known.
The data was collected by searching files and information in Jahr's papers that were found in his hometown of Halle, Germany. From these files it was found that Jahr was born on January 18, 1895 and that he spent his entire life in his hometown.
Jahr received training in philosophy, music, history, national economics and theology by studying at the Pietist Francke Foundation during his university years. By 1917 he began to teach.
The German became an active member of the church from 1925 onwards. He first played the role of priest in Dieskau, in the San Juan church. Later he moved to Braunsdorf and eventually became a pastor in Canena.
In 1932 Jahr married Elise Neuholz. A year later, in 1933, the German left the religious service, when he was 38 years old. He died on October 1, 1953, in Halle without leaving any offspring.
Thought
The idea that Fritz Jahr developed about the bioethical imperative was not as rigid as the ideas that Kant previously put forward. This thought exposed the importance of finding the right measure between the values of human beings and the role of human beings when it comes to subsistence and the way in which they meet their needs for food, space and progress.
In the concept of bioethics he also criticized some thoughts. In his case he referred to what he himself called fanatical Buddhists. For Jahr these groups do not hurt even a poisonous viper because they argue that these creatures are also our sisters.
Jahr spoke of the incorrectness of this thought of the fanatical Buddhists, since when it is decided to kill other species, it is done because the option that is ethically most correct is always chosen.
Jahr's idea was based on the fact that there must be a balance between the human being's need to live and respect for everything else that surrounds him.
Premises
The bioethical imperative was born as a different method of academic training. Its origin was due to the need for analysis in the human being and was based on other disciplines such as physiology and psychology, both of people, animals and plants.
He also presented a new part of ethics. Jahr based her ideas on historical evidence, but she also spoke of the presence of a love that was wrong and another that was true.
The bioethical imperative confirmed some ideas of the imperative proposed by Kant, such as moral affirmation and obligations to others. But he also moved away from Kant's thinking by stating that it could not be exclusively formal and decisions had to be pragmatic according to what Jahr proposed.
Jahr also delved into the idea that human beings had duties in relation to personal health. With this she referred to the importance that should be given to the human body, but also to the soul.
In his articles, the German Shepherd presented some thoughts on matters related to the area of public health. Specifically with the changes that took place during the decades of the 20s and 30s of the 20th century.
Rules
One can even speak of rules in Jahr's bioethical imperative. First there is a rule that can be considered the most important and that is that all the principles set out must work in harmony.
Another rule is born thanks to the fifth commandment that reads: "you shall not kill." Jahr made this idea the norm. The idea was rewritten to explain that you should have respect for all living things.
Jahr introduced the concepts of ethics in different areas. It dealt with corporate ethics and in medicine. She also emphasized the importance of using clear and simple concepts in bioethics.
Plays
His works were not many or very extensive. The main reason is that he suffered difficulties with his health throughout his life. Little more than 10 articles make up his works. Most of them of short length and without major importance when they were published.
At the beginning of the XXI century it was that his work gained relevance. His concepts and ideas on ethics and bioethics were then known worldwide.
His first article was Bioethics: An Analysis of the Ethical Relationships of Human Beings with Animals and Plants. In this publication, from 1927, he presented the new discipline of study.
A year later he wrote The Protection of Animals and Ethics. Here he highlighted the need to feel empathy and compassion for the other living beings on the planet, since they are moral duties that people have, to respect each other. Here he differed from Kant as Jahr involved all living beings, while Kant only referred to humans.
The same year, in 1928, Jahr published another article entitled Social and Sexual Ethics in the Press, where he began to question the custom of scientists and thinkers of the time to only expose their ideas in specialized media.
Jahr recalled the importance of using other means, more modern and with a more massive reach, to generate an impact on the moral and ethical formation of people.
He expanded his work with other articles such as: Two basic moral problems, their contradiction and unification in social life, in 1929, and Reflections on a liberal model of character education, which was published in 1930.
References
- Iva Rincic, A. (2019). Fritz Jahr and the Emergence of European Bioethics. LIT VERLAG.
- Jahr, F. (2013). Essays in Bioethics 1924-1948. Bochum: LIT.
- Muzur, A., & Sass, H. (2017). 1926-2016 Fritz Jahr's bioethics. Zurich: LIT.
- Jahr, F., & Sass, H. (2011). Selected essays in bioethics 1927-1934. Bochum: Zentrum für Medizinische Ethik.
- Pinsart, M. (2009). The bioethic. Paris: Le Cavalier bleu éd.