The importance of Charles Darwin‘s theory for Fritz Jahr‘s conception of bioethics

摘要

Fritz Jahr is a pioneer of bioethics. In this article I will present and outline Jahr’s bioethical programme with a special emphasis on Charles Darwin’s role in Jahr’s ethics. According to Jahr, useful and effi cient animal protection can only be practised well if we have enough knowledge of nature. Jahr refers to Darwin who revolutionised our view of life and of the relationship between the human being and the rest of living nature. In the first introductory section I will shortly present Jahr’s overall perspective and his bioethical imperative. I will also give a very short sketch of today’s bioethics. In the second and third section I will outline Darwin’s revolutionary theory and its application to the human being. I will also present some of the reactions of his contemporaries which reflect Darwin’s achievement for our understanding of living nature. In the fourth section I will go back to Fritz Jahr and will present and discuss different aspects of his approach in more detail. A final quotation from Hans Jonas about the dialectical character of Darwinism will trenchantly highlight Darwin’s importance for Fritz Jahr’s ethics.