Bioethics Beyond the Headlines - by Albert R Jonsen (Paperback)

About the Book

Bioethics Beyond the Headlines is a primer in bioethics. You will not find convoluted philosophical arguments in this volume. Rather, you will find an engaging sampling of the key questions in bioethics, including euthanasia, assisted reproduction, cloning and stem cells, neur...

Book Synopsis

Bioethics Beyond the Headlines is a primer in bioethics. You will not find convoluted philosophical arguments in this volume. Rather, you will find an engaging sampling of the key questions in bioethics, including euthanasia, assisted reproduction, cloning and stem cells, neuroscience, access to healthcare, and even research on animals and questions of environmental ethics-areas typically overlooked in general introductions to bioethics.

Review Quotes

... engaging and readable ... True to his vision, Jonsen shows how we can use the techniques of reason and the insights and sympathies of practicing bioethicists to understand the persistent questions not just of bioethics but of our human predicament: Who lives? Who dies? Who decides?

The book is written in a clear and engaging style, and nicely blends a description of current issues with quite a bit of historical background...There is relatively little jargon or technical terminology; people who are looking for extensive discussions of Kant or deontology will not find it here. What the reader does get, happily, is the wisdom of one of the leading bioethicists, distilled into a very palatable form.

This book succeeds as both a primer in bioethics and a prime to further exploration by the curious and concerned, an endeavor assisted by excellent topical lists of sources. Jonsen provides a thorough review of numerous issues in bioethics, focusing each chapter on one or two headline cases but then exploring the specific topic broadly but in surprising depth. It provides a finely grained and clearly informative view of bioethics.

About the Author

Albert R. Jonsen is professor emeritus of ethics in medicine at the School of Medicine, University of Washington.