Handbook of Bioethics:: Taking Stock of the Field from a Philosophical Perspective (Philosophy and Medicine 78)

This book is for those interested in an extensive review of the field of bioethics. It is for philosophers who wish to understand the core conceptual issues in health care ethics, and for bioethicists who wish to better understand classical problems in philosophy that have a bearing on health care ethics. The Handbook of Bioethics: Taking Stock of the Field from a Philosophical Perspective: -presents a comprehensive survey of bioethics in one volume; -has 27 of the most prominent scholars in the field take stock of the issues they helped define; -contains essays that outline areas where future research is needed; -identifies potential areas for fruitful collaboration between traditional philosophers and bioethicists; -is an ideal text for graduate or upper level undergraduate courses Introduction: Taking Stock Of Bioethics From A Philosophical Perspective / George Khushf -- Section I: The Emergence Of Bioethics -- The History Of Bioethics As A Discipline / Albert R. Jonsen -- Section Ii: Bioethical Theory -- Principles And Principlism / Tom L. Beauchamp And David Degrazia -- Casuistry / Joseph Boyle -- Virtue Theory In Philosophy Of Medicine / David Thomasma -- Common Morality / K. Danner Clouser And Bernard Gert -- Feminist Approaches To Bioethics / Rosemarie Tong -- Four Narrative Approaches To Bioethics / Hilde Lindemann Nelson -- Philosophy Of Medicine And Medical Ethics: A Phenomenological Perspective / Edmund D. Pellegrino -- Section Iii: Core Concepts In Clinical Ethics -- The Logic Of Health Concepts / Lennart Nordenfelt -- Physicians And Patients In Relation: Clinical Interpretation And Dialogues Of Trust / Richard Zaner -- Informed Consent / Stephen Wear -- Philosophical Challenges To The Use Of Advance Directives / Cynthia B. Cohen -- Ethics Committees And Case Consultation: Theory And Practice / Mark G. Kuczewski Section Iv: The Public Policy Context -- The Ethics Of Controlled Clinical Trials / Baruch Brody -- Ethical Issues In The Use Of Cost Effectiveness Analysis For The Prioritization Of Health Resources / Dan Brock -- Sic Et Non: Some Disputed Questions In Reproductive Ethics / Christopher Tollefsen -- Testing Genes And Constructing Humans: Ethics And Genetics / Kurt Bayertz And Kurt W. Schmidt -- Section V: Foundations Of The Health Professions -- Death, Dying, Euthanasia, And Palliative Care: Perspectives From Philosophy Of Medicine And Ethics / B. Andrew Lustig -- Philosophical Issues In Psychiatry / Osborne P. Wiggins And Michael Alan Schwartz -- Nursing Ethics / Sara T. Fry -- Geroethics / Laurence Mccullough -- Ethics And Philosophy Of Public Health / Douglas L. Weed Edited By George Khushf. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In general, the history of virtue theory is well-documented (Sherman, 1997; O'Neill, 1996). Its relationship to medicine is also recorded in our work and in that of others (Pellegrino and Thomasma, 1993b; 1996; Drane, 1994; Ellos, 1990). General publications stress the importance of training the young in virtuous practices. Still, the popularity of education in virtue is widely viewed as part of a conservative backlash to modern liberal society. Given the authorship of some of these works by professional conservatives like William Bennett (1993; 1995), this concern is authentic. One might correspondingly fear that greater adoption of virtue theory in medicine will be accompanied by a corresponding backward-looking social agenda. Worse yet, does reaffirmation of virtue theory lacquer over the many challenges of the postmodern world view as if these were not serious concerns? After all, recreating the past is the "retro" temptation of our times. Searching for greater certitude than we can now obtain preoccupies most thinkers today. One wishes for the old clarity and certitudes (Engelhardt, 1991). On the other hand, the same thinkers who yearn for the past, like Engelhardt sometimes seems to do, might stress the unyielding gulf between past and present that creates the postmodern reaction to all systems of Enlightenment thought (1996)