Bioethics: Ancient Themes In Contemporary Issues (basic Bioethics)
by Ronald Polansky /
2002 / English / PDF
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In recent years, bioethicists have worked on government
commissions, on ethics committees in hospitals and nursing homes,
and as bedside consultants. Because ethical knowledge is based on
experience within the field rather than on universal theoretical
propositions, it is open to criticism for its lack of theoretical
foundation. Once in the clinic, however, ethicists noted the
extent to which medical practice itself combined the certitudes
of science with craft forms of knowledge. In an effort to forge a
middle path between pure science and applied medical and ethical
knowledge, bioethicists turned to the work of classical
philosophy, especially the theme of a practical wisdom that
entails a variable knowledge of particulars. In this book
contemporary bioethicists and scholars of ancient philosophy
explore the import of classical ethics on such pressing
bioethical concerns as managed care, euthanasia, suicide, and
abortion. Although the contributors write within the limits of
their own disciplines, through cross references and
counterarguments they engage in fruitful dialogue.
In recent years, bioethicists have worked on government
commissions, on ethics committees in hospitals and nursing homes,
and as bedside consultants. Because ethical knowledge is based on
experience within the field rather than on universal theoretical
propositions, it is open to criticism for its lack of theoretical
foundation. Once in the clinic, however, ethicists noted the
extent to which medical practice itself combined the certitudes
of science with craft forms of knowledge. In an effort to forge a
middle path between pure science and applied medical and ethical
knowledge, bioethicists turned to the work of classical
philosophy, especially the theme of a practical wisdom that
entails a variable knowledge of particulars. In this book
contemporary bioethicists and scholars of ancient philosophy
explore the import of classical ethics on such pressing
bioethical concerns as managed care, euthanasia, suicide, and
abortion. Although the contributors write within the limits of
their own disciplines, through cross references and
counterarguments they engage in fruitful dialogue.