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PLAYING GOD AND THE ETHICS OF DIVINE NAMES: AN ISLAMIC PARADIGM FOR BIOMEDICAL ETHICS
Author(s) -
SHAHZAD QAISER
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
bioethics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.494
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-8519
pISSN - 0269-9702
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8519.2007.00578.x
Subject(s) - islam , bioethics , perspective (graphical) , character (mathematics) , phrase , epistemology , sociology , aesthetics , state (computer science) , philosophy , environmental ethics , theology , law , art , political science , linguistics , geometry , mathematics , algorithm , computer science , visual arts
The notion of ‘playing God’ frequently comes to fore in discussions of bioethics, especially in religious contexts. The phrase has always been analyzed and discussed from Christian and secular standpoints. Two interpretations exist in the literature. The first one takes ‘God’ seriously and playing ‘playfully’. It argues that this concept does state a principle but invokes a perspective on the world. The second takes both terms playfully. In the Islamic Intellectual tradition, the Sufi concept of ‘adopting divine character traits’ provides a legitimate paradigm for ‘playing God’. This paradigm is interesting because here we take both terms ‘God’ and ‘playing’ seriously. It is significant for the development of biomedical ethics in contemporary Islamic societies as it can open new vistas for viewing biotechnological developments.