In "Life in the Balance," Niles Eldredge argues that the Earth is confronting a disaster in the making--an ecological crisis that, if left unresolved, could ultimately lead to mass extinction on the scale of that which killed the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. Writing for general readers, he reviews compelling evidence for this "biodiversity crisis," showing that species are dying out at an unnaturally rapid rate. He demonstrates the importance of maintaining biodiversity, taking the reader on a journey that reveals the twin faces of biodiversity--over thirteen million living species "and" the ecosystems through which these species transform the sun's energy into life-sustaining matter. Throughout, Eldredge shows how our own fate is intricately linked with that of other species.

Eldredge, one of the world's foremost paleontologists, begins by taking us to the heart of Botswana's Okavango Delta, considered by many to be among the last "Edens" left on Earth--a place where a rich assortment of organisms exist in natural equilibrium. However, it is also a place where the results of human activity--pollution, clear-cutting, water-diversion, encroaching agriculture, disease--now pose the same ecological threats that, on a worldwide scale, put the entire planet at risk. Eldredge then leads us on a fascinating exploration of the Earth's organisms--animals, plants, fungi, the microbes that underpin all life--and of the diverse ecosystems from the tundra to the tropics in which these organisms live. It is a journey that demonstrates the inherent value of the millions of species and ecosystems on Earth, and the importance of biodiversity to the entire biosphere and to humans' continued existence.

Eldredge concludes that humans not only are responsible for the biodiversity crisis but also hold the key to preventing an impending Sixth Extinction. He argues that we must, among other strategies, pledge ourselves to sustainable development and the conservation of wild places. An eloquent and passionate account by one of today's leading scientists, "Life in the Balance" will draw new attention to one of the most pressing problems now facing the world. In this book, Eldredge explores the same themes that illuminate The American Museum of Natural History's new Hall of Biodiversity, for which he is Scientific Curator. The Hall is scheduled to open in spring 1998.

Should transhuman and posthuman persons ever be brought into existence? And if so, could they be generated in a good and loving way? This study explores how society may respond to the actual generation of new kinds of persons from ethical, philosophical, and theological perspectives. Contributors to this volume address a number of essential questions, including the ethical ramifications of generating new life, the relationships that generators may have with their creations, and how these creations may consider their generation. This collection's interdisciplinary approach traverses the philosophical writings of Aristotle, Aquinas, Kant, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, alongside theological considerations from Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. It invites academics, faith leaders, policy makers, and stakeholders to think through the ethical gamut of generating posthuman and transhuman persons.

Bonnie Steinbock presents The Oxford Handbook of Bioethics --an authoritative, state-of-the-art guide to current issues in bioethics.
Thirty-four contributors reflect the interdisciplinarity that is characteristic of bioethics, and its increasingly international character. Thirty topics are covered in original essays written by some of the world's leading figures in the field, as well as by some newer "up-and-comers." The essays address both perennial issues, such as the methodology of bioethics, autonomy, justice, death, and moral status, and newer issues, such as biobanking, stem cell research, cloning, pharmacogenomics, and bioterrorism. Other topics concern mental illness and moral agency, the rule of double effect, justice and the elderly, the definition of death, organ transplantation, feminist approaches to commodification of the body, life extension, advance directives, physician-assisted death, abortion, genetic research, population screening, enhancement, research ethics, and the implications of public and global health for bioethics.
Anyone who wants to know how the central debates in bioethics have developed in recent years, and where the debates are going, will want to consult this book. It will be an invaluable resource not only for scholars and graduate students in bioethics, but also for those in philosophy, medicine, law, theology, social science, public policy, and public health who wish to keep abreast of developments in bioethics.

Producing and rearing children are immensely important human activities. Procreation and Parenthood offers new and original essays by leading philosophers on some of the main ethical issues raised by these activities. An Introduction supplies an accessible overview of the current debates. Individual chapters then take up particular problems such as: the morality of bringing people into existence; what limits there might be on a person's freedom to reproduce; whether human beings need to ensure that they only create the best possible children; whether there is a conflict between justice and parents' devotion of time and money to their own children; and, whether parents acquire their role because of their intention to do so or because they are responsible for bringing children into being.

Taking a unique approach that emphasizes careful reasoning, this cutting-edge reader is structured around twenty-seven landmark arguments that have provoked heated debates on current ethical issues. Contemporary Moral Arguments: Readings in Ethical Issues, Second Edition, opens with an extensive two-chapter introduction to moral reasoning and moral theories that provides students with the background necessary to analyze the arguments in the following chapters. Chapters 3-12 present seventy-six readings that are organized-in the conventional way-into ten topical areas: abortion; drugs and autonomy (new to this edition); euthanasia and assisted suicide; genetic engineering and cloning; the death penalty; war, terrorism, and torture; pornography; economic justice and health care; animal rights and environmental duties; and global obligations to the poor. Offering a special feature not found in other anthologies, the selections are also organized in an unconventional way, by argument, so that students can more easily see how philosophers have debated each other on these critical issues. Each argument opens with an introduction that outlines the argument's key points, provides context for it, and reviews some of the main responses to it. Each introduction is followed by two to four essays that present the argument's classic statement, critiques and defenses of it, and related debates. Contemporary Moral Arguments incorporates more pedagogical features than any other reader, including: * Essay questions-ideal for writing assignments-after each of the twenty-seven argument sections * Four types of boxes throughout: Facts and Figures, Public Opinion, Legalities, and Time Lines * A list of key terms at the end of each chapter, all defined in the glossary, and suggestions for further reading * An Instructor's Manual and Testbank on CD featuring chapter and reading summaries, lecture outlines in PowerPoint format, and essay and objective questions with an answer key * A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/vaughn containing the same material as the Instructor's Manual along with such student resources as self-quizzes and flash cards NEW TO THIS EDITION: * An expanded introductory chapter on moral reasoning that dissects a sample essay step by step and includes exercises on arguments * A new chapter (4) on drugs and autonomy, including four classic articles * A new section on ethical egoism (in Chapter 2) and three additional readings in other chapters * Numerous updated text boxes that reflect the latest information on abortion, euthanasia and assisted suicide, genetic engineering, capital punishment, war and terrorism, and economic and global justice

Biopolitics and posthumanism have been passe theories in the academy for a while now, standing on the unfashionable side of the fault line between biology and liberal thought. These days, if people invoke them, they do so a bit apologetically. But, as Ruth Miller argues, we should not be so quick to relegate these terms to the scholarly dustbin. This is because they can help to explain an increasingly important (and contested) influence in modern democratic politicsthat of nostalgia. Nostalgia is another somewhat embarrassing concept for the academy. It is that wistful sense of longing for an imaginary and unitary past that leads to an impossible future. And, moreover for this book, it is ordinarily considered bad for democracy. But, again, Miller says, not so fast. As she argues in this book, nostalgia is the mode of engagement with the world that allows thought and life to coexist, productively, within democratic politics. Miller demonstrates her theory by looking at nostalgia as a nonhuman mode of thought, embedded in biopolitical reproduction. To put this another way, she looks at mass democracy as a classically nonhuman affair and nostalgic, nonhuman reproduction as the political activity that makes this democracy happen. To illustrate, Miller draws on the politics surrounding embryos and the modernization of the Turkish alphabet. Situating this argument in feminist theories of biopolitics, this unusual and erudite book demonstrates that nostalgia is not as detrimental to democratic engagement as scholars have claimed.

Recent advances in the brain sciences have dramatically improved our understanding of brain function. As we find out more and more about what makes us tick, we must stop and consider the ethical implications of this new found knowledge. Will having a new biology of the brain through imaging make us less responsible for our behavior and lose our free will? Should certain brain scan studies be disallowed on the basis of moral grounds? Why is the media so interested in reporting results of brain imaging studies? What ethical lessons from the past can best inform the future of brain imaging?
These compelling questions and many more are tackled by a distinguished group of contributors to this, the first-ever volume on neuroethics. The wide range of disciplinary backgrounds that the authors represent, from neuroscience, bioethics and philosophy, to law, social and health care policy, education, religion and film, allow for profoundly insightful and provocative answers to these questions, and open up the door to a host of new ones. The contributions highlight the timeliness of modern neuroethics today, and assure the longevity and importance of neuroethics for generations to come.

This book is the first broad history of the growing field of bioethics. Covering the period 1947-1987, it examines the origin and evolution of the debates over human experimentation, genetic engineering, organ transplantation, termination of life-sustaining treatment, and new reproductive technologies. It assesses the contributions of philosophy, theology, law and the social sciences to the expanding discourse of bioethics. Written by one of the field's founders, it is based on extensive archival research into resources that are difficult to obtain and on interviews with many leading figures. A very readable account of the development of bioethics, the book stresses the history of ideas but does not neglect the social and cultural context and the people involved.

Mary Warnock steers a clear path through the web of complex issues underlying the use of new reproductive technologies. She begins by analysing what it means to claim something as a 'right', and goes on to discuss the cases of different groups of people. She also examines the ethical problems faced by particular types of assisted reproduction, including artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, and surrogacy, and argues that in the future human cloning may well be a viable and acceptable form of treatment for some types of infertility.

Framed with a substantial introduction by the editor, this new book brings together the key articles written on bioethics over recent years. Subjects covered include the beginnings of life, the end of life, quality of life, value of life, future generations, and professional ethics.

Issues concerning patients' rights are at the center of bioethics, but the political basis for these rights has rarely been examined. In "Bioethics in a Liberal Society: The Political Framework of Bioethics Decision Making," Thomas May offers a compelling analysis of how the political context of liberal constitutional democracy shapes the rights and obligations of both patients and health care professionals. May focuses on how a key feature of liberal society--namely, an individual's right to make independent decisions--has an impact on the most important relational facets of health care, such as patients' autonomy and professionals' rights of conscience.

Although a liberal political framework protects individual judgments, May asserts that this right is based on the assumption of an individual's competency to make sound decisions. May uses case studies to examine society's approach to medical decision making when, for reasons ranging from age to severe mental disorder, a person lacks sufficient competency to make independent and fully informed choices. To protect the autonomy of these vulnerable patients, May emphasizes the need for health care ethics committees and ethics consultants to help guide the decision-making process in clinical settings. "Bioethics in a Liberal Society" is essential reading for all those interested in understanding how bioethics is practiced within our society.

Are eugenics practices morally defensible? Who should have access to genetic information about particular individuals? What dangers for cultural and racial diversity do developments in genetics pose? And how should scientific research be regulated and by whom? These are some of the questions addressed by the contributors, who include Ian Wilmut (co-creator of `Dolly' the sheep), John Harris, and Jonathan Glover. Fascinating and thought-provoking, this book is essential reading for all those interested in the future of genetics and humankind.

Rated as one of the top 15 breakthroughs in medicine over the last 150 years, evidence-based medicine (EBM) has become highly influential in medicine. Put simply, EBM promotes a seemingly irrefutable, principle: that decision-making in medical practice should be based, as much as possible, on the most up-to-date research findings. EBM has been particularly popular within psychiatry, a field that is haunted by a legacy of controversial interventions. For advocates, anchoring psychiatric practice in research data makes psychiatry more scientific valid and ethically legitimate. Few, however, have questioned whether EBM, a concept pioneered by those working in other areas of medicine, can be applied to psychiatric disorders. In this groundbreaking book, the Canadian psychiatrist and ethicist Mona Gupta analyzes the basic assumptions of EBM, and critically examines their applicability to psychiatry. By highlighting the basic ethical tensions between psychiatry and EBM, the author addresses the fundamental and controversial question - should psychiatrists practice evidence-based medicine at all?

Unfit for the Future argues that the future of our species depends on our urgently finding ways to bring about radical enhancement of the moral aspects of our own human nature. We have rewritten our own moral agenda by the drastic changes we have made to the conditions of life on earth. Advances in technology enable us to exercise an influence that extends all over the world and far into the future. But our moral psychology lags behind and leaves us ill equipped to deal with the challenges we now face. We need to change human moral motivation so that we pay more heed not merely to the global community, but to the interests of future generations. It is unlikely that traditional methods such as moral education or social reform alone can bring this about swiftly enough to avert looming disaster, which would undermine the conditions for worthwhile life on earth forever. Persson and Savulescu maintain that it is likely that we need to explore the use of new technologies of biomedicine to change the bases of human moral motivation. They argue that there are in principle no philosophical or moral objections to such moral bioenhancement. Unfit for the Future challenges us to rethink our attitudes to our own human nature, before it is too late.

Akira Akabayashi presents the first book to explore the conversation on bioethics that is taking place between scholars and practitioners from the East and West: the first book in the discipline of bioethics for the globalized world of the future. An international team of experts address emerging issues in bioethics, focus on new developments and their potential for change, and set the agenda for the future. Most studies in bioethics advocating East-West dialogue have either attempted cross-cultural comparisons or have proposed Eastern philosophical paradigms to counter Western ideas. The tacit premise of previous work on the East-West dialogue is therefore a strain of relativism. Simply maintaining a respectful distance from other cultures is no longer sufficient in this era of globalization. The time has come for active engagement among different cultural perspectives. The Future of Bioethics initiates discussion on bioethical issues that arise from new medical technologies such as regenerative medicine, enhancement, research ethics, and synthetic biology, and goes on to address challenging dilemmas that result from the globalization of social change, such as transplantation tourism, public health ethics, care in the aging society, and professionalism. The volume presents original work by leading researchers in the field, alongside that of promising new scholars; as such, it establishes not only a cross-cultural dialogue, but dialogue between researchers of different generations. The book is divided into two parts-the first on the progress of biomedical technologies and ethics, and the second on globalization and bioethics. Each part contains four sections on different topics, which feature a lead essay followed by a set of commentaries and further discussion.

The social practice of forming, shaping, expressing, contesting, and maintaining personal identities makes human interaction, and therefore society, possible. Our identities give us our sense of how we are supposed to act and how we may or must treat others, so how we hold each other in our identities is of crucial moral importance. To hold someone in her identity is to treat her according to the stories one uses to make sense of who she is. Done well, holding allows individuals to flourish personally and in their interactions with others; done poorly, it diminishes their self-respect and restricts their participation in social life. If the identity is to represent accurately the person who bears it, the tissue of stories that constitute it must continue to change as the person grows and changes. Here, good holding is a matter of retaining the stories that still depict the person but letting go of the ones that no longer do. The book begins with a puzzling instance of personhood, where the work of holding someone in her identity is tragically one-sided. It then traces this work of holding and letting go over the human life span, paying special attention to its implications for bioethics. A pregnant woman starts to call her fetus into personhood. Children develop their moral agency as they learn to hold themselves and others in their identities. Ordinary adults hold and let go, sometimes well and sometimes badly. People bearing damaged or liminal identities leave others uncertain how to hold and what to let go. Identities are called into question at the end of life, and persist after the person has died. In all, the book offers a glimpse into a fascinating moral terrain that is ripe for philosophical exploration.

Profoundly important ethical and political controversies turn on the question of whether biological life is an essential aspect of a human person, or only an extrinsic instrument. Lee and George argue that human beings are physical, animal organisms - albeit essentially rational and free - and examine the implications of this understanding of human beings for some of the most controversial issues in contemporary ethics and politics. The authors argue that human beings are animal organisms and that their personal identity across time consists in the persistence of the animal organisms they are; they also argue that human beings are essentially rational and free and that there is a radical difference between human beings and other animals; criticize hedonism and hedonistic drug-taking; present detailed defenses of the prolife positions on abortion and euthanasia; and defend the traditional moral position on marriage and sexual acts.

In a world where incredible medical technologies are possible ... does "can do" mean "should do"? Why the Church Needs Bioethics helps you understand and constructively engage bioethical challenges with the resources of Christian wisdom and ministry. Three rich and true-to-life case studies illustrate the urgency of such bioethical issues as reproductive and genetic technologies, abortion, forgoing treatment, assisted suicide, stem cell research, and human enhancement technologies. Leading Christian voices bring biblical and theological perspective to bear on the incredible medical technologies available today; mobilize useful insights from health care, law, and business; and demonstrate the powerful ways the church can make a difference through counseling, pastoral care, intercultural ministry, preaching, and education. This book equips students, church and lay leaders, and people in health-related fields with the knowledge to make faithful bioethical decisions and to help foster a world where human beings are shown respect as people created in the image of God. Contributors to Why the Church Needs Bioethics include leading Bible and theology scholars, such as D. A. Carson and Kevin Vanhoozer; leaders in the areas of preaching (Greg Scharf) and ethics (Scott Rae); and 15 other experts in the fields of biblical-theological studies, ministry, communication, business, law, healthcare, and bioethics.

Patient autonomy is a much discussed and debated subject in medical ethics, as well as in healthcare practice, medical law, and healthcare policy. This book provides a detailed and nuanced analysis of both the concept of autonomy and the principle of respect for autonomy, in an accessible style. The unique feature of this book is that it combines empirical research into hospital practice with thorough philosophical analyses. As such, it is an example of a new movement in applied ethics, that of 'empirical ethics'.

The key themes are informed consent and medical decision making, personal well-being, competence, paternalism and decision making for incompetent patients. Much attention is also devoted to autonomy in non-decision making situations - patient control over small everyday aspects of care, authenticity and existential aspects of illness, autonomy and the 'ethics of care', and the relationship between autonomy and trust in the physician-patient relationship.

This book will be of interest to those working or studying in the field of medical ethics and applied ethics but also to healthcare professionals and health policy makers.

The Edge of Life: Human Dignity and Contemporary Bioethics treats a number of distinct moral questions and ?nds their answer in the dignity of the person, both as an agent and as a patient (in the sense of the recipient of action). Characteristically one's view of the human being ultimately shapes one's outlook on these matters. This book addresses questions that divide a culture of life from a culture of death as well as a number of questions debated within the Catholic tradition itself. The Edge of Life offers a critique of the new bio-ethic, represented by such notable authors as Peter Singer; it also attempts to shore up some of the dif?culties leveled by critics against the traditional ethic as well as to answer some questions disputed by those within the tradition. This book does not treat the basic principles of morality but rather many of their applications and suppositions. (For an account of contemporary debates within the Catholic tradition on these matters, see Kaczor 2002). Rather, The Edge of Life seeks to address a number of disputed contemporary questions touching upon human dignity at what has been called "the margins of life. " The ?rst section of the book treats the dignity of the human person as recipient of action and as agent. Chapter two examines various accounts of when a human being becomes a person.

Culture, Health, and Social Change is the first of three volumes on Aging conceived for the International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine. Leading scholars from a range of disciplines contest some of the predominant paradigms on aging, and critically assess modern trends in social health policy. How we approach and understand "aging" will have indelible effects on existing and future elder citizens. Acknowledging the cultural variances that exist in the human experience of aging is therefore of vital importance in order to respond to individual needs in a manner that is not paternalistic, discriminatory, or exclusionary.

Like its predecessor, New Dimensions in Bioethics, this volume developed out of a series of lectures at Yale University's Institution for Social and Policy Studies. Each speaker in the Bioethics & Public Policy Seminar Series was invited because of her or his expertise in a given area of bioethics. Each of the more successful participants was invited to contribute a manuscript for publication. The essays are bound together by the application of an ethical analysis to scientific questions, and by consideration of policy implications. At its inception, bioethics was virtually synonymous with medical ethics. As the field grew and attracted new practitioners, it became clear that other applications of this new subject required extension of its scope. For example, environmental ethics, propelled by such authors as Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, quickly developed a vigorous literature of its own. More recently, developments in the analysis of the human genome, the enticing medical possibilities offered by the therapeutic use of stem cells, the complexities surrounding the cloning of animals and possibly humans and the development of transgenic agricultural crops have given new impetus to the expansion of traditional bioethical horizons. Bioethics must now adjust to these new realities, for it is clear that public interest in the field is growing as these new challenges appear.

The contributions to this volume grew out of papers presented at an international conference Individual, Community & Society: Bioethics in the Third Millennium, held in Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, between 25-28 May 1999. The conference was organized by the Centre for Comparative Public Management and Social Policy, and Ethics in Contemporary China Research Group, in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the City University of Hong Kong. The conference brought together scholars from east and west to investigate the challenges to caring and to traditional moral authorities that would confront bioethics in the third millennium. They explored the implications of moral loss and moral diversity in post-traditional and post-modern societies, and how these would shape the character of medical care and bioethics discourse in the new era. A proceedings volume under the same title of Individual, Community & Society: Bioethics in the Third Millennium, was published in May 1999 for the conference meeting.

Once confined to the research laboratory, the genetic engineering of plants is now a big business that is changing the face of modern agriculture. Giant corporations are creating designer crops with strange powers, from cholesterol-reducing soybeans to plants that act as miniature drug factories, churning out everything from vaccines to insulin. They promise great benefits: better health for consumers, more productive agriculture - even an end to world hunger. But the vision has a dark side, one of profit-driven tampering with life and the possible destruction of entire ecosystems. In this text Daniel Charles takes us deep inside research labs, farm sheds and corporate boardrooms to reveal the hidden story behind this agricultural revolution. He tells how a handful of scientists at Monsanto drove biotechnology from the lab into the field, and how the company's opponents are fighting back with every tool available to them, including the cynical manipulation of public fears. A dramatic account of boundless ambition, political intrigue and the quest for knowledge, this is ultimately a story of idealism and of conflicting dreams about the shape of a better world.

Womb transplant babies 'within three years.''If implantable wombs become a reality in humans, they need not be confined to women. Some men might also be keen.' Guardian, July 2003Having exhausted the possibilities for geographic colonial expansion, as well as reaching the fiscal limitations of virtual space, capital is now concentrated on exploiting a new frontier -- organic molecular space. Critical Art Ensemble began mapping this development in Flesh Machine (Autonomedia, 1998) by examining the use of reproductive technologies and their promise for achieving an intensified degree of control over worker and citizen. The Molecular Invasion acts as a companion to this first book by mapping the politics of transgenics, and offering a model for the creation of a contestational biology, as well as providing direct interventionist tactics for the disruption of this new assault on the organic realm. The Molecular Invasion is an indispensable user's guide for anyone interested in the critical thinking and practice of biotech as a social, scientific, and political phenomenon.