ISSN Печать: 2151-805X
ISSN Онлайн: 2151-8068
An Introduction to Bioethics and Ethical Theory
Краткое описание
This paper presents an overview of the field of bioethics and its theoretical foundations, focusing on a number of issues likely to be of interest to the journal's readership. The origins of medical ethics are discussed starting with reference to the Hippocratic Oath. The need for formal codes regarding the ethical conduct of human subjects research is shown to have been motivated, at least in part, by some of the Nazi medical experiments. The paper then presents a brief synopsis of the Kantian and utilitarian approaches to ethics, and their generalization into deontological and consequentialist approaches. The four principles behind principlism (respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice) are then discussed. Also discussed are some of the issues in choosing a good moral theory, various aspects of informed consent, the doctrine of double effect, and the concept of therapeutic privilege. Also, we provide some examples of real-life bioethical dilemmas that have resulted in important legal precedents.