Differential ethics in global mental health

Advancing the opinion that global mental health supersedes public and international levels and deals with an integrative approach, this paper elaborates some of the implications of a differential ethics theory as outlined by H.M. Sass. Rejecting the extremes of moralizing generalizations and narrow scientific stances, it considers the need for cultural competence and praxis-relevant thinking in ethical evaluation. This does not only apply to the relationships between experts and lay people but also to the pluralistic constitution of ethics committees, in which different epistemic and value cultures must be integrated along a continuum of decision making processes including deontological and teleological stages.