FRITZ JAHR’S LEGACY AND THE MACEDONIAN BIOETHICS

Abstract

In 1785 Kant only requested that we must “respect every living being in principle
as a purpose in itself and, if possible”, (to) “treat it as such!”. While the “Sanctity
of the Moral Law” was the basis for Kant’s Categorical Imperative, for Fritz Jahr’s
Bioethical Imperative, it was “Sanctity of Life”, i.e. compassion with all forms of life and
living together.
Having or not, this in mind, this theoretical base for bioethical reflection, in
1971 (when the name and practice of bioethics appears in the world), our prof. Pavao
Vuk-Pavlovic, in his last university lecture, left the students of the Faculty of Philosophy
in Skopje the legacy to: “Take care of the living and create loving: Love the life!”.
And with this, the seeds for academic investigations and researches about bioethical
sensitiveness and around bioethics were sowed, but not recognized and undeveloped in
that time.
From today’s perspective, unlike many neighboring countries on the Balkan, in
Macedonia we doesn’t talk about bioethics as a developed discipline or as a part of
scientific activities and research, or even less, bioethics as something that is a systematic
part of education, including bioethical education, up ‘till, at least, the last ten to fifteen
years, and still with enormous difficulties and obstacles. Do we have any kind of trace
in term of history of the bioethical discovering efforts in the meanwhile from 1971 or
earlier? Even more, what kind of future do we have for the next generations and the
same future generation? What happened in Macedonia with the Jahr’s legacy and his
bioethical imperative?