Principles of Biomedical Ethics

EACH CHAPTER ENDS WITH A CONCLUSION. ; PART I. MORAL FOUNDATIONS ; 1. MORAL NORMS ; Normative and Nonnormative Ethics ; The Common Morality as Universal Morality ; Particular Moralities as Nonuniversal ; Moral Dilemmas ; A Framework of Moral Norms ; Conflicting Moral Norms ; 2. MORAL CHARACTER ; The Concept of Moral Virtue ; Virtues in Professional Roles ; The Virtue of Caring ; Five Focal Virtues ; Moral Ideals ; Moral Excellence ; 3. MORAL STATUS ; The Problem of Moral Status ; Theories of Moral Status ; From Theories to Practical Guidelines ; The Moral Significance of Moral Status ; Vulnerable Populations and Vulnerable Individuals ; PART II. MORAL PRINCIPLES ; 4. RESPECT FOR AUTONOMY ; The Concept of Autonomy and the Principle of Respect for Autonomy ; The Capacity for Autonomous Choice ; The Meaning and Justification of Informed Consent ; Disclosure ; Understanding ; Voluntariness ; 5. NONMALEFICENCE ; The Concept of Nonmaleficence and the Principle of Nonmaleficence ; Distinctions and Rules Governing Nontreatment ; Optional Treatments and Obligatory Treatments ; Killing and Letting Die ; The Justification of Intentionally Arranged Deaths ; Protecting Incompetent Patients ; 6. BENEFICENCE ; The Concept of Beneficence and Principles of Beneficence ; Obligatory Beneficence and Ideal Beneficence ; Paternalism: Conflicts between Beneficence and Respect for Autonomy ; Balancing Benefits, Costs, and Risks ; The Value and Quality of Life ; 7. JUSTICE ; The Concept of Justice and Principles of Justice ; Traditional Theories of Justice ; Recent Theories of Justice ; Fair Opportunity and Unfair Discrimination ; Vulnerability, Exploitation, and Discrimination in Research ; National Health Policy and the Right to Health Care ; Global Health Policy and the Right to Health ; Allocating, Setting Priorities, and Rationing ; 8. PROFESSIONAL-PATIENT RELATIONSHIPS ; Veracity ; Privacy ; Confidentiality ; Fidelity ; Clinical Ethics and Research Ethics ; The Dual Roles of Clinician

Tom L. Beauchamp is Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. James F. Childress is University Professor and John Allen Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics at the University of Virginia.

Praise for the previous edition: "The new sixth edition of Principles of Biomedical Ethics is a welcome event. There is nothing else like it in the field of bioethics. It has easily become over the years the most used, most praised, and most distinguished book in the field. Each edition moves beyond the previous ones in important and nuanced ways. Beauchamp and Childress keep up with the ever-changing terrain of bioethics, and work hard to refine their own arguments. It gets better and better. One can hardly ask for more."--Daniel Callahan, Director, International Program, The Hastings Center

"What is by far the best general book on bioethics has gotten even better. The new material on international justice and virtue ethics is especially valuable. Such a combination of accessibility and rigor is rarely attained."--Allen Buchanan, James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy and James B. Duke Professor of Public Policy Studies, Duke University

"This sixth edition of Principles of Biomedical Ethics reaffirms its undisputed stature as a canonical text for the world's bioethicists. It maintains a standard of scholarship and clarity appealing to neophytes and seasoned scholars, to adherents and critics of its principled approach."--Edmund D. Pellegrino, Chairman, President's Council on Bioethics

"The contemporary field of bioethics is unimaginable, absent this text. Principles of Biomedical Ethics provided a paradigmatic approach that shaped the early character of bioethics. It continues to be a source of serious debate regarding the nature of morality and the significance of bioethics. No one can understand the field of bioethics apart from this volume."--H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., M.D., Professor, Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine

"Like all of its previous incarnations, this new edition of Principles of Biomedical Ethics offers the reader a window onto the cutting edge of contemporary bioethics. Never content to merely recyc