Cutting through the surface : : philosophical approaches to bioethics / / edited by Tuija Takala, Peter Herissone-Kelly, and Søren Holm.

• Superior document: Value inquiry book series. Values in bioethics
• TeilnehmendeR: Takala, Tuija.; Herissone-Kelly, Peter.; Holm, Søren, 1963-
• Place / Publishing House: Amsterdam : : Rodopi,, 2009.
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Language: English
• Series: Value Inquiry Book Series 211.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (276 pages).
• Notes: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

This book examines the role of philosophy and philosophers in bioethics. Academics often see bioethical studies as too practical while decision makers tend to see them as too theoretical. The purpose of this collection of new essays by an international group of distinguished scholars is to explore the troubled relationship between theory and practice in the ethical assessment of medicine, health care, and new medical and genetic technologies. The book is divided into six parts. In the first part, philosophers consider the definition of bioethics, the nature of applied ethics more generally, and the possibility of combining utilitarian and liberal strands of thinking in moral and political studies. In the second part, authors discuss the place and justification of principles in bioethics and the significance of medical and nursing experience in moral decision making. The third part addresses the complementary (or contradictory, as the case may be) principles of dignity, autonomy, precaution, and solidarity, and their use in theoretical and practical settings. In the fourth part, public health measures and experimental research are defended against traditional moral concerns. Part five scrutinizes parental responsibilities in bearing and rearing children, especially the reasons for and against human reproduction in individual cases. In part six, enhancements to human nature by various means are analyzed. Following in the footsteps of four previous collections in the Values in Bioethics special series by the same editorial team— Scratching the Surface of Bioethics , Bioethics and Social Reality , Ethics in Biomedical Research , and Arguments and Analysis in Bioethics —this book, compiled in honor of Professor Matti Häyry’s 50th birthday, drills into the core of the discipline to show the philosophical depths that lie under the polished surface of policy-driven everyday bioethics.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- BIOETHICS: WHAT LIES UNDER THE SURFACE? / Tuija Takala , Peter Herissone-Kelly and Søren Holm -- WHY “DEFINITIONS” MATTER IN DEFINING BIOETHICS? / Sirkku K. Hellsten -- ETHICS BEYOND APPLICATION / Sven Ove Hansson -- UTILITARIANISM AND LIBERALISM / Harry Lesser -- THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BIOETHICAL PRINCIPLES / Veikko Launis -- THE METHOD OF WIDE REFLECTIVE EQUILIBRIUM IN BIOETHICS / Juha Räikkä -- BUT HOW COULD THEY KNOW? REFLECTIONS ON THE ROLE OF PHILOSOPHY AND PHILOSOPHERS IN MEDICAL ETHICS / Pekka Louhiala -- DOES NURSING ETHICS FIT IN WITH PHILOSOPHY AND BIOETHICS? / Leila Toiviainen -- DIGNITY: YET ANOTHER LOOK / Simon Woods -- AUTONOMY (AND A LITTLE BIT OF DIGNITY) IN BIOETHICS / Niall Scott -- CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS OF THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE: AN ETHICAL ANALYSIS / Michael Parker and Paolo Vineis -- JUSTICE OR SOLIDARITY? THINKING ABOUT NORDIC PRIORITIZATION IN THE LIGHT OF RAWLS / Vilhjálmur Árnason -- WILL YOU STILL NEED ME, WILL YOU STILL FEED ME, WHEN I’M 64? AN ETHICAL PROBLEM FOR THE MODERN, COSMOPOLITAN ACADEMIC / Søren Holm -- UNIVERSAL RAPID TESTING FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE IN AIRPORTS AND PLACES OF PUBLIC CONTACT: A THOUGHT EXPERIMENT ABOUT THE ETHICAL CHALLENGES / Margaret P. Battin , Charles B. Smith , Larry Reimer , Jay A. Jacobson and Leslie P. Francis -- PIGS AND PRINCIPLES: THE USE OF ANIMALS IN RESEARCH / John Harris -- RESEARCH ETHICS: A DECENT PROPOSAL / Rosamond Rhodes -- PARENTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND THE DUTY TO LOVE ONE’S CHILDREN / Floora Ruokonen and Simo Vehmas -- THE MEANING OF SUFFERING: A CRITIQUE OF THE HÄYRY SYNDROME / Frank J. Leavitt -- IS IT IRRATIONAL TO HAVE CHILDREN? / Richard Ashcroft -- HUMAN REPRODUCTION: SELFISH AND IRRATIONAL BUT NOT IMMORAL / Rebecca Bennett -- GAMBLING, RISKS, AND REPRODUCTION: A REPLY TO MATTI HÄYRY / Tom Buller -- DO WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO MAKE SMARTER BABIES? / Lisa Bortolotti -- YOUTHFUL LOOKS —NO MATTER WHAT IT COSTS? / Heta Aleksandra Gylling -- NEW LIFE FORMS: MIN OR MAX CYBORGS? / Timo Airaksinen -- ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND EDITORS -- INDEX -- VIBS.