What bodily integrity isn't

Talk title: 'What bodily integrity isn't'

Abstract: The concept of bodily integrity is widely-used in philosophical, legal, and bioethical discourse, but its meaning is unclear. A concept of bodily integrity should be able to do three things: it should be able to explain what is special about procedures and interventions that have an effect on the body; it should give guidance in controversial cases; and it should be capable of being used as a defence against a proposed bodily intervention. In this paper, I’ll show how various seemingly-plausible accounts of bodily integrity cannot do these three things. If time allows, I’ll indicate an alternative that can. This talk will include discussion of various controversial cases of intervention into others’ bodies.