Bioethics and the Brain by
Our ability to map and intervene in the structure of the human brain is proceeding at a very quick rate. Advances in psychiatry, neurology, and neurosurgery have given us fresh insights into the neurobiological basis of human thought and behaviour. Technologies like MRI and PET scans candetect early signs of psychiatric disorders before they manifest symptoms. Electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain can non-invasively relieve symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and other conditions resistant to treatment, while implanting neuro-electrodes can helppatients with Parkinsons and other motor control-related diseases. New drugs can help regenerate neuronal connections otherwise disrupted by schizophrenia and similar diseases.All these procedures and drugs alter the neural correlates of our mind and raise fascinating and important ethical questions about their benefits and harms. They are, in a sense, among the most profound bioethical questions we face, since these techniques can touch on the deepest aspects of thehuman mind: free will; personal identity; the self; and the soul. In this book, Walter Glannon uses a philosophical framework that is fully informed by cutting edge neuroscience as well as contemporary legal cases such as Terri Schiavo, to offer readers an introduction to this fascinating topic. Hestarts by describing the state of the art in neuroscientific research and treatment, and gives the reader an up-to-date picture of the brain. Glannon then looks at the ethical implications of various kinds of treatments, such as: whether or not brain imaging will end up changing our views on freewill and moral responsibility; whether patients should always be told that they are at future risk for neurological diseases; if erasing unconscious emotional memories implicated in depression can go too far; if forcing behaviour-modifying drugs or surgery on violent offenders can ever be justified;the implications of drugs that enhance cognitive abilities; and how to define brain death and the criteria for the withdrawal of life-support.
Clinical Ethics by
Clinical Ethics teaches healthcare providers how to effectively identify, evaluate, and resolve ethical issues in clinical medicine. Using the author acclaimed "Four Box Method" and numerous illustrative case examples, this book enables practitioners to gain a better understanding of the complexities involved in ethical cases and demonstrates how to reach resolution to ethical problems. Clinical Ethics goes beyond theory to offer a decision-making strategy applicable to real-world practice. Readers will learn an easy-to-apply system based on simple questions about medical indications, patient preferences, quality of life, and contextual features that clearly explain clinical ethics and help them formulate a sound diagnosis and treatment strategy. The case examples have been selected to demonstrate how principles apply to real-world everyday practice. The co-authors, a bioethicist, a physician and a lawyer/ psychoanalyst /philosopher, draw on more than forty years respectively of clinical experience to select exemplary cases of ethical problems and to reflect on how moral principles and concepts can guide clinicians in formulating ethically appropriate recommendations for patient care. A unique chapter organization: Each chapter of the book begins with some general considerations about the topic, and the ethical principle relevant to that topic. The clinical situations that generate ethical problems are then described and illustrated by clinically realistic medical cases. A short distillation of current opinion from the bioethical literature is provided, followed by an analysis of the cases.. The authors conclude with recommendations that the three authors have formulated from their extensive experience as bioethics consultants.
Pharmacy Ethics and Decision Making by
This is a primer in professional ethics and accountability for practising pharmacists. It provides a complementary resource to the RPSGB Code of Ethics, to guide pharmacists in their professional practice.
Bioethics by
This book examines the field of bioethics from an international and regional legal perspective. It focuses on major international law documents such as the United Nations Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights and UNESCO declarations on human cloning and the human genome. Coverage of regional legal instruments includes the Council of Europe Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (the Oviedo Convention) and its Protocols on cloning, transplantation, and research with human beings. Work on surrogacy issues by the Hague Conference on Private International Law is also discussed, as are some African regional legal instruments on biosafety, and stem cell research.
Observing Bioethics by
Based on original primary and extensive secondary source materials, the book views bioethics as a complex phenomenon that is not only related to advances in modern biology, medicine, and biotechnology, but also to the fundamental values and beliefs and larger moral and existential questionswhich American society has been collectively grappling in its courts, legislatures, and media. Although they center their analysis on U.S. bioethics, the authors also trace the field's international spread, including case studies of bioethics in France and Pakistan - two of the many societies inwhich it has developed. While recognizing the intellectual, moral and sociological importance of American bioethics, they are critical of certain of its characteristics, and concerned about their implications-especially the problems of thinking socially, culturally, and internationally that haveexisted since bioethics' inception; the field's "tenuous interdisciplinarity"; and the extent to which the "culture wars" on the larger American scene have recently penetrated it.
Bioethics: Issues and Dilemmas by
Bioethics is the philosophical study of the ethical controversies brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, philosophy, and theology. This book presents research in the expansive field of bioethics including biomedical ethics in obstetrics, ethical decision making in the health care system, the feasibility of using human oocytes for stem cell research, as well as mandatory circumcision in Sub-Saharan Africa to prevent HIV and AIDS and environmental ethics to preserve the world for future generations.
Problems of Bioethics by
This book criticizes the suggestive implication of newer bioethics that we need a new ethical paradigm in order to handle with the innovations of medicine and biotechnology. It holds that these innovations have a suggestive character at all which is not relevant however in order to justify a paradigm shift in ethics. Especially the suggestions of reproduction, genetics, mercy killing and neuroscience reveal a misunderstanding about ethics. Moreover they show inevitably theological implications they actually like to avoid especially in secular ethics.
Bioethics As Practice by
Those who work in bioethics and the medical humanities come from many different backgrounds, such as health care, philosophy, law, the social sciences, and religious studies. The work they do also varies widely: consulting on ethical issues in patient care, working with legislatures, dealing with the media, teaching, speaking, writing and more. Writing as a participant in this developing field, Judith Andre offers a model to unify its diversity. Using the term "bioethics" broadly, to include all the medical humanities, she articulates ideals for the field, identifies its temptations and moral pitfalls, and argues for the central importance of certain virtues. Perhaps the most original of these is the virtue of choosing projects well, which demands not only broadening the field's focus but also understanding the forces that have kept it too narrow. Andre offers an imaginative analysis of the special problems presented by interdisciplinary work and discusses the intellectual virtues necessary for its success. She calls attention to the kinds of professional communities that are necessary to support good work. The book draws from interviews with many people in the field and from the findings of social scientists. It includes the author's personal reflections, several extended allegories, and philosophical analysis.
Bioethics for Beginners by
How far is too far? 60 cases illustrating modern bioethical dilemmas Bioethics for Beginners maps the giant dilemmas posed by new technologies and medical choices, using 60 cases taken from our headlines, and from the worlds of medicine and science. This eminently readable book takes it one case at a time, shedding light on the social, economic and legal side of 21st century medicine while giving the reader an informed basis on which to answer personal, practical questions. Unlocking the debate behind the headlines, this book combines clear thinking with the very latest in science and medicine, enabling readers to decide for themselves exactly what the scientific future should hold.
