Synopses & Reviews
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 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.
Review
"Judith Andre has courageously and honestly excavated some of the deepest psychic and organizational labyrinths through which bioethicists roam.
(Rosemarie Tong, University of North Carolina at Charlotte)"
Review
"Judith Andre has courageously and honestly excavated some of the deepest psychic and organizational labyrinths through which bioethicists roam.
(Rosemarie Tong, University of North Carolina at Charlotte)"
Review
"Andre makes a persuasive case for bioethics as a new line of work--virtue ethics in practice. The book's strong suit stems from the author's inclusion of moral as well as intellectual growth among the principal aims of bioethics. An original contribution to a maturing field. (Ronald A. Carson, University of Texas Medical Branch)"
Review
"Everyone even remotely interested in the ethical issues of medicine and the life sciences should read this book.
(Larry R. Churchill, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)"
Review
"An original contribution to a maturing field.
(Ronald A. Carson, University of Texas Medical Branch)"
Synopsis
Andre examines the field of bioethics from an insider's point of view, exploring the questions that have dominated the field and encouraging students and practitioners to move beyond end-of-life issues to address issues in the routine practice of medicine.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. November 1994
2. Bioethics as Something New
3. Bioethics as a Territory: An Allegory
4. The Languages of Bioethics
5. Bioethics as a Practice
6. Bioethics and Moral Development
7. Virtue in Bioethics: Choosing Projects Well
8. The Goods We Want and the Goods We Need: A Call for Integrity and Discernment
9. Virtuous Communities
10. Intellectual Virtue and Interdisciplinary Work
11. A New Millennium
Notes
Bibliography
Index