Insistent Life: Principles for Bioethics in the Jain Tradition

by Brianne Donaldson, Ana Bajzelj

Overview

A free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org.

Jainism, perhaps more so than any other South Asian tradition, focuses strongly on the ethics of birth, life, and death, with regard to both humans and other living beings. Insistent Life is the first full-length interdisciplinary examination of the foundational principles of bioethics within Jain doctrine and the application of those principles in the contemporary sphere. Brianne Donaldson and Ana Bajželj analyze a diverse range of Jain texts and contemporary sources to identify Jain perspectives on bioethical issues while highlighting the complexity of their personal, professional, and public dimensions. The book also features extensive original data based on an international survey the authors conducted with Jain medical professionals in India and diaspora communities of North America, Europe, and Africa.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520380561
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	294
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Brianne Donaldson is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies and Shri Parshvanath Presidential Chair in Jain Studies at University of California, Irvine.

Ana Bajželj is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and Shrimad Rajchandra Endowed Chair in Jain Studies at University of California, Riverside.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Note on Language and Transliteration xi

Part 1 Foundational Principles

1 Why Jainism and Bioethics? 1

2 Life, Nonlife, and Karma 12

3 Nonviolence and the Framework of Jain Ethics 44

4 Jainism's Evolving View of Medicine 75

Part 2 Principles of Application

5 Potentials of (Re)Birth 109

6 Wages of Life 147

7 Calculations of Death 182

Epilogue: Multiple Voices and Future Directions in Jain Bioethics 213

Notes 215

References 241

Index 271

Editorial Reviews

"This compelling book brilliantly illustrates how an ancient minority religious tradition like Jainism can be used to deliberate on modern bioethical issues, debates, and discussions, making it an illustrious contribution to bioethics and Jain studies."

Religious Studies Review

"This book combines the best methods of the humanities and the social sciences,  demonstrating  the  ongoing  relevance  of  cultural  history,  philosophy, theology,  sociology,  and  medical  ethics  within  today’s  world  of  dynamic multiculturalism."
 

Nature and Culture Journal for the Study of Religion

"Insistent Life is an exciting and thought-provoking contribution to the field of Jain studies, particularly because it draws on an impressive array of sources to think about how a minority religious tradition many thousands of years old can (and should) participate in modern, complicated debates about human life."

Reading Religion