What is Phenomenological Bioethics? A Critical Appraisal of Its Ends and Means.

This article critically examines the recent phenomenological approach to bioethics as developed by Swedish philosopher Fredrik Svenaeus, who employs a Heideggerian framework to deepen the philosophical anthropology underlying mainstream bioethics. Svenaeus aims to enrich bioethical reflection by focusing on the lived experience of health and illness and by scrutinizing the conception of human personhood that informs ethical principles. The article identifies four main objections to Svenaeus' approach, notably its limited scope regarding non-person human beings and non-human life, and Heidegger's inadequate treatment of embodiment and ethics. It concludes by proposing that phenomenological bioethics would benefit from incorporating insights from Max Scheler and Hans Jonas, whose work better integrates the biological foundations of human existence and normative concerns for both human and non-human life, thereby offering a more comprehensive philosophical anthropology for bioethics.