New cycle, new paths, new approaches

From this issue onward, Revista Bioética starts a new cycle, with the mission of becoming a reference not only in Latin America but worldwide. To this end, the journal now counts on the invaluable collaboration of the new scientific editor, professor Rui Nunes (PhD), and professor Natália Oliva Teles (PhD).

Revista Bioética is an indisputable reference in all countries where Portuguese and Spanish are the main languages. From Latin America to Europe, crossing all continents, this journal has covered a wide range of contemporary topics on bioethics over the years, with incursions in Law and Philosophy, but always under universal ethical principles – namely those in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , proclaimed by the United Nations¹ in 1948, and in the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization² , which incorporates bioethics in the International Law since 2005.

The respect for the researchers’ tolerance and critical spirit are fundamental characteristics of Revista Bioética . That is, despite global axiological references – such as the intrinsic value of human beings and their dignity, the guarantee of justice and equity, the promotion of individual beneficence and public solidarity –, researchers have a wide range of topics available, limited only by the technical rigor required by a journal of this nature.

Now we have the chance to place this journal on a distinguished level of promoting true scientific bioethics since the global evolution of geopolitics fostered a multicultural world with new centralities in the development of science and knowledge. The diminishing influence of Anglo-Saxon thought on the objectives of humanity arises new ways of seeing the world related to specific cultures of different peoples. We believe that this relative void can and should be filled by an understanding of bioethics more concerned with the collective duty of humanity and with solidarity among people, especially the most vulnerable.

The coronavirus pandemic is a great example of the fact that individual rights must be aligned with the public interest. That is, it is possible to respect sick individuals and their basic rights and, simultaneously, take public health measures of collective interest. The world faces important challenges, and the pandemic is only the most visible one. Climate change, for example, highlights the importance of global ethics to solve global problems.

As a result of its rigor and professionalism over the years, Revista Bioética has intellectual property of such magnitude that it may stand out as one of the great journals on an international scale. For that, this publication must reach other societies and cultures, which implies reinforcing the Editorial Board. And, of course, improving its scientific content, which, being of a high level, will surely meet the highest international standards.

This issue presents several topics that allow reflecting on important points, such as human dignity, the principles of equity and justice, the interaction between bioethics, health, and work, the physician-patient relationship, the vulnerability of patients and their pain and suffering from the perspective of the health care model.

The different understandings of the human person correspond to specific times and societies. According to the Aristotelian concept, the existence of the political man implies their relationship with other men in a specific common space, the city³ . There, people gather in community, aiming for a happy life. During the Renaissance, the definition of the human person received a new attribute: that of dignity. This concept has underpinned the struggle for the rights of all people, especially political, which took shape in the following centuries. The analysis of human dignity, its controversies and possible solutions is given by the relationship with human rights, biotechnological advances, respect, solidarity, and the exercise of citizenship, considering personal and social rights, in addition to the ability to maintain standards and principles⁴ .

Equality, equity, and justice are also contemplated in article 10 of the Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights ² , which contextualizes the importance of social issues in government policies, regarding guarantees of access to public health and the development of potentialities that reduce inequalities in search of a more fair society.

In this issue, the regulations for biomedical research in Chile are also evaluated in a comparison with international ethical standards on the subject, in particular the Declaration of Helsinki ⁵ and the International ethical guidelines for research related to health involving human beings , of the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences⁶ . Another relevant theme is the integration between bioethics, health, and work, involving its moral and legal aspects.

Even with the great contemporary technological development, great deficiencies in human relations persist, which directly influence health care. Following this idea, one of the studies in this edition analyzes the physician-patient relationship from the thought of the philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, and another one investigates the subjectivity of pain, which would be better treated when the interdisciplinary team can understand and evaluate the human rights of patients.

Finally, considering the interest of the scientific community in the field of neurosciences, this edition presents a relevant article relating it to neuroethics. The concern with ethical issues in the cognitive sciences is old, going back to philosophical and scientific traditions that originally sought to understand the relationship between brain and behavior. In this case, the researchers contrast the computational view of cognition with the enactive approach, which argues that knowledge results from the influence of the environment on the body. These and other relevant topics are available to all in this edition, and we hope you enjoy a fruitful reading.

On behalf of the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), we thank the new editors for accepting this challenge of expanding the journal’s internationalization. We also express our gratitude to the CFM member, José Hiran da Silva Gallo, MD, for being a great proponent of bioethics in Brazil, and to those who dedicated themselves to this journal over the years. The editors would also like to thank CFM itself, responsible for the structure that allows Revista Bioética to be published, and the entire team making this mission possible through enormous effort and dedication.

We are sure that together we will make this scientific journal shine on the international stage. This dream can become a reality if we start from the assumption that we are all essential to its realization, and that it is worthwhile to build an understanding of bioethics that meets the universalist vision of Van Rensselaer Potter⁷: a true bridge to a better future.

Referências

• ¹
  Organização das Nações Unidas. Declaração universal dos direitos humanos [Internet]. Lisboa: ONU; 1998 [acesso 15 maio 2020]. Disponível: https://bit.ly/2ziluDZ
  » https://bit.ly/2ziluDZ
• ²
  Organização das Nações Unidas para a Educação, a Ciência e a Cultura. Declaração universal sobre bioética e direitos humanos [Internet]. Brasília: Unesco; 2005 [acesso 15 maio 2020]. Disponível: https://bit.ly/37ZsXn6
  » https://bit.ly/37ZsXn6
• ³
  Hogemann ER. O debate bioético em torno à ideia da pessoa humana. Novos Estud Juríd [Internet]. 2013 [acesso 15 maio 2020];18(1):100-18. DOI: 10.14210/nej.v18n1.p100-118
• ⁴
  Albuquerque A. Dignidade humana: proposta de uma abordagem bioética baseada em princípios. Rev Direitos Garantias Fundam [Internet]. 2017 [acesso 15 maio 2020];18(3):111-38. Disponível: https://bit.ly/2yn3ZSq
  » https://bit.ly/2yn3ZSq
• ⁵
  Associação Médica Mundial. Declaração de Helsinki [Internet]. Helsinki: AMM; 1964 [acesso 15 maio 2020]. Disponível: https://bit.ly/2ZvA4mt
  » https://bit.ly/2ZvA4mt
• ⁶
  Organización Panamericana de la Salud, Consejo de Organizaciones Internacionales de las Ciencias Médicas. Pautas éticas internacionales para la investigación relacionada con la salud con seres humanos [Internet]. Washington: OPS; 2017 [acesso 15 maio 2020]. Disponível: https://bit.ly/2yWhk42
  » https://bit.ly/2yWhk42
• ⁷
  Potter VR. Bioética: ponte para o futuro. São Paulo: Loyola; 2016.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  26 June 2020
• Date of issue
  Apr-Jun 2020