Bridging the Gap Between Local Moral Experience and Global Discourse – Sofia Seewald

“Moral Experience and Ethical Reflection: Can Ethnography Reconcile Them? A Quandary for ‘The New Bioethics,’” written by American psychiatrist and medical anthropologist Arthur Kleinman in 1999 argues that with increasing globalization, a widening income gap, and modernization of our world, the “universal” principles of bioethics no longer represent local moral experience. In bioethics discourse, Kleinman claims that there is dissonance between moral experience and ethical reflection. This means there is a gap in connecting what matters to people locally, and articulating what matters “in a self-aware language that aspires to universal reflection, comparison, and criticism” (Kleinman 79). I agree with Kleinman’s analysis of the lack of universality in bioethics and the need to reframe the principles of this multidisciplinary study. 

One quote that resonated with me from Kleinman’s article that gets at the main point of his argument is, “Modeling ethics as a person’s individual choice, which in turn are supposed to be based in deep, philosophically and psychologically informed reflection shaped by religion and secular standard that seek universal application, simply does not account for the social processes of moral life” (Kleinman 72). The manner in which ethics is framed is based on the moral reasoning of one local community (the middle to upper-class, majority-white male scholars, lawyers, and medical professionals and agencies), thus excluding other communities’ moral and human experiences. Ethics, as it is framed right now, is very ethnocentric. Therefore, Kleinman concludes that ethics is irrelevant, as it does not take into account other ways of living. 

A good example Kleinman gave to prove the disconnect between moral experience and ethical reflection is the idea of human nature. Kleinman states, “a shared human nature assures that, regardless of context, humans will universally bear the same moral sensibilities” (73). Yet, “there is no agreement on what human nature is” (74). How can we define human nature and claim that all humans “bear the same moral sensibilities” when it is impossible to know the morals and values of all living humans? I personally believe the claim of human nature is illegitimate, as I do not see a way to define the term. If one individual does attempt to define human nature, that definition only applies to that individual’s specific human experience and context. While Kleinman displays the disconnect between local moral realities and ethical discourse, the article “Blessing unintended pregnancy” (Seeman et al., 2020) discusses the disconnect between moral experience and public health discourse. 

“Blessing unintended pregnancy” discusses findings from an ethnographic study on homeless African American mothers living in a shelter in the southeastern United States. Several life-history interviews were conducted and when asked about their unintended pregnancy, the majority of the women expressed that pregnancy and their child’s birth was a blessing. In public health discourse, getting pregnant when you are unable to support a child financially is highly stigmatized and is viewed as burdening society. That is why our public health system is built to prevent these types of situations from happening. However, this perspective is coming, again, from middle to upper-class, majority-white male scholars, lawyers, and medical practitioners and administrators. While this community has diversified, this is still the demographic majority. If the public health system were to take into account how unintended pregnancy has impacted the African American women at the Naomi House shelter, they would see a whole different story. A lot of these women saw getting pregnant as “a story of redemption” (Seeman et al. 37). For example, Diana saw her unintended pregnancy as a way to escape an abusive partner and start fresh at the shelter where she could obtain childcare help and other supportive resources. The conclusion of the article includes a powerful quote that sums up this argument: “The question, to put it simply, is not whether ‘religion’ complicates efforts to promote family planning, but whether family planning efforts have adequately considered the diverse and multiply contested terrain of moral experience through which individuals and communities navigate” (46). So, how do we bridge the gap between global public health and ethical deliberations and the local moral experience? I believe there are two possible ways to go about resolving this. 

Kleinman argues that ethnography can aid in bridging this gap. Ethnography teaches others about moral processes different from their own and the meaning behind these processes. A good example is Nancy Scheper-Hughes’s ethnography focused on a Brazilian Shantytown. This study focuses on the practice of selective child neglect by mothers in the poor shantytown neighborhood, neglecting weaker infants to let the stronger infants live. While the Western world may view this practice as extremely unethical, the women in the town consider this practice necessary for their survival and their stronger children’s survival. This ethnography opens people’s eyes to a different way of thinking and Scheper-Hughes demonstrates the collision between local morality and ethical reflection. Ethnographers should also be self-reflexively critical of their position in the cultures they study. In my cultural anthropology class, we read “A Thrice-Told Tale” by Margery Wolf. This ethnography takes place in a small Taiwanese village. Wolf takes the time at the end of the book to self-reflect on her presence in this village and the limitations that come along with writing an ethnography from a white American perspective. This portion of the book was so valuable, and is a practice of what Kleinman calls “ethnographic sensibility.” Ethnographic sensibility brings the ethnographer, and later readers of the ethnography, “within and without the flow of experience” (Kleinman 88). Thus, ethnography helps people understand other local perspectives, working toward building a more inclusive non-local discourse. 

The other way to go about resolving this, in my opinion, is making it a requirement to take one or two anthropology courses in undergraduate school, as most of the people included in debates around public health and ethics pursue secondary education. I think this would help people gain an anthropological perspective on these issues and would assist in creating cross-cultural understanding. This would allow more voices to be represented in global discourses and could contribute to reaching a place of global solidarity. 

The question I would like to pose is, are there other ways to bridge the gap between moral experience and ethical reflection? If so, what are they? Additionally, how can we bring this argument back to the ethical debates on abortion?

5 comments

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  1. Hi Sofia,

    I think you did a great job summarizing and analyzing the readings from this week. I definitely agree with many of the points you made, as highlighted in Kleinmann’s article in particular. There definitely is a gap between moral experience and ethical reflection. It seems that in society, the individuals who determine what is considered “ethical” are individuals of a certain culture or socioeconomic status who have a very particular view of human nature. It’s interesting that you brought up the idea of ethnocentrism because Kleinmann’s article, as well as the article on unplanned pregnancies among homeless African American mothers, highlights this concept. There is definitely an element of ethnocentrism when it comes to defining human nature and what is considered to be ethical. I agree that ethnography is essential to bridging the gap because this immersive study of other cultures allows us to understand that how we view ethics and human nature can be completely one-sided at times. I also agree that making anthropology courses for students a requirement can also assist with bridging the gap. To answer your final question, this argument can be applied to the ethical debates on abortion we’ve discussed thus far because, in my opinion, deciding whether abortion is completely ethical or unethical in all scenarios is an example of this gap between ethical reflection and moral experience. It is essential to realize the ethnocentric view of such extreme opinions and it is important to strive to bridge that gap.

  2. Hey Sofia,
    I enjoyed reading your summary and analysis of this week’s reading. I also interpreted Kleinman’s work similarly. In the reading, Kleinman emphasizes the importance of ethnography in understanding the diverse and complex bioethical dilemmas today. He manifests that ethnography allows anthropologists and researchers to immerse themselves in local moral worlds and apply them to more generalized understandings of a globalized system. I do believe ethnography is essential in research because one cannot examine a culture without experiencing and living in the culture’s societal context. without ethnography, research is less credible and has a greater risk of being misrepresented and generalized.

    I completely agree with you when you mentioned how there is simply no approach to defining a universal definition of human nature as the definition is based on an individual’s human experience and context, and I also feel that defining the term would simply demonstrate the use of ethnocentrism as one’s interpretation of what is considered innate behaviors in humans cannot be a central or superior belief from another person.

    I agree with you when you mentioned how anthropology courses should be a requirement for students. In my freshman year, I unintentionally enrolled in an introduction to anthropology 101 courses. Not even knowing what anthropology was my freshman year, I was reluctant to continue the course. However, as I stayed and participated in the course, I discovered how interesting and essential anthropology is. the insights I gained from that course, such as avoiding ethnocentrism and practicing cultural relativism, have led me to have taken 6 other anthropology courses. As a pre-med student, and applying my understanding of ethnocentrism in medical scenarios and illness experiences, I learned the value of anthropology as understanding important concepts such as ethnocentrism and understanding how to avoid it, allows for more efficient cross-cultural communications and decreases the risks of your own biases taking over. If not through anthropological courses, I believe educational systems should teach ethical reasoning to their students rather than just identifying ethical principles. Doing so will help students in the real world solve and find solutions when faced with predicaments and disagreements.

  3. Hi Sofia,

    Great job, you’re a strong writer! I like how you make a point in describing who created our current public health goals. This is really important in shaping how one might view a woman who becomes pregnant who does not have the financial means to provide for such a child (especially a woman of color). I think it is important to know where your preconceived ideas on moral values come from before you begin to critique someone else’s situation. As you mention in your response the best way for people to overcome their own biases is to educate them. I wonder if this could be applied more holistically to the general population instead of the already educated, could anthropology be additionally taught in public schools? I additionally liked the example of Brazilian women you used which also stood out to me in the readings. I know this ‘feeding the strongest child’ technique is typical for many animals, however it is harshly judged by western women who cannot fathom neglecting a child in such a way. You pose interesting questions in the end and my answer to your question on abortion would be the same as the Brazilian women example. Unless you walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, you really won’t know what their experience encompasses.

    • Elie on April 4, 2022 at 2:32 pm
    • Reply

    Hi Sofia,

    Great job, you’re a strong writer! I like how you make a point in describing who created our current public health goals. This is really important in shaping how one might view a woman who becomes pregnant who does not have the financial means to provide for such a child (especially a woman of color). I think it is important to know where your preconceived ideas on moral values come from before you begin to critique someone else’s situation. As you mention in your response the best way for people to overcome their own biases is to educate them. I wonder if this could be applied more holistically to the general population instead of the already educated, could anthropology be additionally taught in public schools? I additionally liked the example of Brazilian women you used which also stood out to me in the readings. I know this ‘feeding the strongest child’ technique is typical for many animals, however it is harshly judged by western women who cannot fathom neglecting a child in such a way. You pose interesting questions in the end and my answer to your question on abortion would be the same as the Brazilian women example. Unless you walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, you really won’t know what their experience encompasses.

  4. Hi Sofia! I really enjoyed reading through your blog post, you’re a great writer. I liked how you incorporated strong quotations to support your argument. You get to the heart of Kleinman’s argument immediately: “Modeling ethics as a person’s individual choice, which in turn are supposed to be based in deep, philosophically and psychologically informed reflection shaped by religion and secular standard that seek universal application, simply does not account for the social processes of moral life” (Kleinman 72). This quote also stood out to me while I was reading and you point out nicely how Kleinman argues ethics is selective in its point of departures and the sources from which it draws from. Unfortunately, it is often homogenous in thought, and therefore Kleinman deems it as overstated.

    You also ask great questions like how we can define human nature and how do we bridge the gap between public health and moral/ethical experience. I liked how you incorporated tangible strategies to dissolving this binary (ex: requiring undergraduate students to take 1-2 anthro classes during their undergraduate time), which also makes me wonder what other courses should be required within GERs in order to fight against these problems. You do a good job of tackling practical, tangible solutions to the problem that Kleinman poses. Overall great work!

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