Language politics

Language politics is playing an increasingly important role in bioethics, both in a positive sense, which has recently been possible to attribute to it, and in the negative sense, which, since the sophists, traditionally belongs to it.In the positive sense, language politics proceeds through the re-appreciation of concepts, promoting its accuracy, contributing to a better understanding of the situation, and facilitating the most adequate ethical decision. In the negative sense, language politics proceeds through the redefinition of concepts, reshaping reality following specific interests and leading to the adoption of certain practices accordingly. In this perspective, language politics affects the soundness and integrity of the ethical reflection and the objectivity and credibility of the decisions taken. Briefly, it affects the legitimacy of bioethics’ arguments and deliberations.This entry describes the context that gives way to language politics, within the triangulation of thought, reality, and language, defines how it can take place, and reviews some paradigmatic examples of language politics in bioethics, both good and bad.The way language politics can work and the impact it can have are presented through examples selected from different biomedical areas.