The Nature and Prospects of Bioethics

by Miller, Franklin G.; Humber, James M.; Fletcher, John C.

• ISBN13: 9780896037090
• ISBN10: 0896037096
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-04-01
• Publisher: Humana Pr Inc

Summary

Prominent bioethicists whose work is rooted in philosophy, religion, medicine, nursing, literature, history, and policy analysis join together to discuss their methods and professional insights, as well as to better define the field and its future development. Writing from the perspective of their own specialties, the authors: review just how their personal disciplines have contributed to bioethics, debate the current and future bioethical issues they face, and identify the most significant strengths and weaknesses in the current practice of bioethics. Seeking a sound foundation for the discipline, they also consider what basic knowledge and skills are necessary to be competent in bioethics, what methods and theoretical approaches are most promising for its future development, and what issues or perspectives have been neglected.

Table of Contents

Preface	v
List of Contributors	ix
The Owl and the Caduceus: Does Bioethics Need Philosophy?	1	(42)
John D. Arras
Religion, Theology, and Bioethics	43	(26)
James F. Childress
Medicine and Bioethics	69	(18)
Howard Brody
When Policy Analysis Is Carried Out in Public: Some Lessons for Bioethics from NBAC's Experience	87	(26)
Eric M. Meslin
Finding the Good Behind the Right: A Dialogue Between Nursing and Bioethics	113	(28)
Patricia Benner
Medical Ethics: Literature, Literary Studies, and the Question of Interdisciplinarity	141	(38)
Kathryn Montgomery
History and Bioethics	179	(18)
M. L. Tina Stevens
Index	197