8. Literary Bioethics

This chapter examines how fiction, particularly speculative and literary fiction, can enrich bioethical reflection by engaging the moral imagination. It begins with Never Let Me Go (2005) by Kazuo Ishiguro, where cloned individuals—emotionally and cognitively indistinguishable from humans—are denied full moral status, prompting ethical questions about personhood and human dignity. Drawing on philosophers such as Yanni Ratajczyk, Martha Nussbaum, Iris Murdoch, and John Dewey, the chapter highlights how imagination—whether in the form of empathy, perception, or deliberation—is not opposed to moral reasoning but central to it. Fiction, the chapter argues, helps illuminate implicit biases, invites new perspectives, and explores ethical dilemmas in ways that abstract principles often cannot. Through works by authors like Ursula Le Guin, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Maren Linett, it shows how literature can challenge dominant narratives, expand notions of moral considerability, and reframe relationships between humans, nonhumans, and the planet.