Engaging Bioethics: An Introduction with Case Studies draws students into this rapidly changing field, helping them to actively untangle the many issues at the intersection of medicine and moral concern. Presuming readers start with no background in philosophy, it offers balanced, philosophically based, and rigorous inquiry for undergraduates throughout the humanities and social sciences as well as for health care professionals-in-training, including students in medical school, pre-medicine, nursing, public health, and those studying to assist physicians in various capacities. Written by an author team with more than three decades of combined experience teaching bioethics, this book offers
- Flexibility to the instructor, with chapters that can be read independently and in an order that fits the course structure
- Up-to-date coverage of current controversies on topics such as vaccination, access to health care, new reproductive technologies, genetics, biomedical research on human and animal subjects, medically assisted death, abortion, medical confidentiality, and disclosure
- Attention to issues of gender, race, cultural diversity, and justice in health care
- Integration with case studies and primary sources
- Pedagogical features to help instructors and students, including
- Chapter learning objectives
- Text boxes and figures to explain important terms, concepts, and cases
- End-of-chapter summaries, key words, and annotated further readings
- Discussion cases and questions
- Appendices on moral reasoning and the history of ethical issues at the end and beginning of life
- An index of cases discussed in the book and extensive glossary/index
- A companion website (http://www.routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/9780415837958/) with a virtual anthology linking to key primary sources, a test bank, topics for papers, and PowerPoints for lectures and class discussion
Table of Contents:
PART I. BIOETHICS AND MORAL THEORY
Chapter 1: The Study of Morality
Chapter 2: Philosophical Accounts of Morality
PART II. THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN BIOETHICS
Chapter 3: Principle-Oriented and Case-Oriented Bioethics
Chapter 4: Managing Patient Information
Chapter 5: Consent with Competence and Without
PART III. MORAL ISSUES AT THE END OF LIFE
Chapter 6: Death and Dying
Chapter 7: When Life Supports Are Futile or Refused
Chapter 8: Medically Assisted Death
Chapter 9: End-of-Life Measures for Severely Compromised Newborns
PART IV. MORAL ISSUES AT THE BEGINNING OF LIFE
Chapter 10: Personhood in the Abortion Debate
Chapter 11: Abortion in the Typical Case
Chapter 12: Abortion in the Hard Cases
Chapter 13: Conflicts of Rights at Life’s Beginning
PART V. THE BIOTECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION
Chapter 14: New Reproductive Technologies
Chapter 15: Human Genetic Engineering
PART VI. MEDICINE AND SOCIETY
Chapter 16: Biomedical Research on Animals
Chapter 17: Biomedical Research on Humans
Chapter 18: Justice in Healthcare
Appendix A. The Tools of Ethical Inquiry
Appendix B. Evolving Attitudes toward Ending or Preventing Human Life
Glossary/Index of Key Terms
Index of Cases
Abbreviations
Additional References
About the Author :
Gary Seay is professor of philosophy at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York.
Susana Nuccetelli is professor of philosophy at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
Review :
"Seay and Nuccetelli have done an admirable job at distilling and making accessible a large body of medical information, complex case law, and philosophical ethics. Their text makes the project of developing competence and understanding in bioethics a lot less daunting, without simplifying the philosophical and scientific issues. The book is organized so that instructors can easily design a course around a subset of the topics covered, and its teaching and learning resources are outstanding. This is the best bioethics textbook I am aware of, for students and teachers alike."
-- Brandon Cooke, Professor & Chair (Philosophy), Minnesota State University, Mankato
"This is a concise introduction to bioethics that covers a lot of ground. The chapters are sufficiently self-contained so that the text can be adapted to different course designs, and the boxes and figures throughout are helpful learning aids. Important cases are discussed but don’t dominate the discussion, so the emphasis remains on the philosophical arguments and issues."
-- William A. Bauer, Teaching Assistant Professor, North Carolina State University
"Seay and Nuccettelli offer a refreshing and bold approach to bioethics that confronts readers directly, requiring them to intimately wrestle with the most pressing issues through numerous case studies and a nuanced analysis of the core concepts and principles. The authors strike a delicate balance between accessibility and depth, with the results being a text that is eminently readable. This is not easy material, but the authors have created a text open to readers with little or no philosophical background without sacrificing the complexity found in these important discussions. They also offer an expansive and up-to-date sourcebook to find primary sources online in the companion website."
-- Scott O’Leary, Assistant Professor, University of Saint Mary
