December 1, 2010
Humanity’s End is motivated by the conviction that the debate about human enhancement must move beyond the binary “yes, I love it; no, it’s evil†dialectic that has tended to dominate philosophical discussion up till now. When we focus on … Read More
November 3, 2010
I enjoy reading political histories, especially those spiced with intrigue and gossip. But this is the first time I have read a political history on a subject about which I have been intimately acquainted; covering issues with which I have … Read More
September 7, 2010
In Western countries, respect for patient autonomy is recognized as one of the most dominant ethical principles in healthcare ethics, and obtaining informed consent from the patient for healthcare treatment is understood as standard practice. Accordingly, we assume that the … Read More
August 31, 2010
During the Nuremberg trials, convened at the end of World War II, lawyers for the German defendants, politicians accused of crimes against humanity, and physicians accused of euthanasia and barbaric medical experimentation offered the rationale of “kriegsraison†to exculpate their … Read More
August 31, 2010
On the Origins of Cognitive Science is an excellent review of early twentieth century cognitive science. It stands out amongst other reviews of cognitive science by taking a broad perspective over the ideas that were alive during the cybernetic era … Read More
August 6, 2010
Developing World Bioethics (Volume 10, Issue 2, 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles Include: “The Future of Bioethics” by Udo Schüklenk, ii-iii. “Reproductive Tourism in Argentina: Clinic Accreditation and its Implications for Consumers, Health Professionals and Policy Makers” … Read More
July 19, 2010
What if I were grown only so that my organs could be harvested, and I had to care for others whose organs are being taken, too, while I wait for my own death? What if doctors cut off a piece … Read More
July 2, 2010
Accounting for Health and Health Care: Approaches to Measuring the Sources and Costs of Their Improvement by the Panel to Advance a Research Program on the Design of National Health Accounts and the National Research Council (The National Academies Press) … Read More
June 30, 2010
JAMA (Volume 303, Number 24, June 23, 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles Include: “Health Care Reform-A Historic Moment in US Social Policy” by Elenora E. Connors and Lawrence O. Gostin “Genomic Analysis of Mental Illness: A Changing … Read More
June 16, 2010
JAMA (Volume 303, Number 23, June 16, 2010) is now available by subscription only Articles Include: “Managing Financial Conflict of Interest in Biomedical Research” by Sally J. Rockey and Francis S. Collins “Quality of Care-How Good is Good Enough?” by … Read More
June 15, 2010
Nursing Philosophy (Volume 11, Issue 3, July 2010) is now available by subscription only Articles Include: “Scepticism About the Virtue Ethics Approach to Nursing Ethics” by Stephen Holland “Reflection on Moral Maturity in a Nurse’s Caring Practice: A Critical Perspective” by … Read More
June 3, 2010
Sanger is one of the heroes of “America and the Pill,” a new cultural history of the birth control pill written by Elaine Tyler May, a professor of American studies and history at the University of Minnesota. Throughout her long … Read More
April 15, 2010
The Australasian Journal on Ageing (Volume 29, Issue 1, 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: Book Review: “Decision-making, Personhood, and Dementia: Exploring the Interface” by Colleen Doyle, 50-50.
April 14, 2010
In Medical Ethics and the Faith Factor, Robert Orr provides the overall rationale for ethical decision-making as well as for certain discrete medical issues: failure of the cardiac, pulmonary, renal, and neurologic systems; pregnancy; reproductive disorders; failure to eat, drink, … Read More
March 2, 2010
The American Journal of Human Genetics (Vol. 86; Issue 2; February 12, 2010) is now available by subscription only. Articles include: Book Review: “Genetic Dilemmas and the Right to an Open Future” by Annelien Brendenoord, 108.
February 17, 2010
As an emergency department volunteer in the late 1970s, I often performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on patients in cardiac arrest. With my newly minted Basic Cardiac Life Support certification, I eagerly augmented the output of a teenager’s failing pump. I can … Read More
February 15, 2010
No one cares about the untold numbers of cells our bodies slough off every day. But imagine that someone got hold of your cells — and the DNA they contain — and used them to cure a disease, or somehow … Read More
January 15, 2010
American bioethics was born out of a desire to be relevant. The philosopher Daniel Callahan has said that he and his colleagues founded the Hastings Center–the premier bioethics think tank–in 1969 because they wanted to give philosophy “some social bite, … Read More
September 16, 2009
Put succinctly, what Alva Noë is offering in Out of Our Heads is nothing short of a paradigm shift, complete with an incisive criticism of the status quo of neurosciences and a suggestion for an alternative model. The scientific study … Read More
September 2, 2009
Denise Mina is ABD – all but the dissertation. Her acclaimed psychological thrillers grew out of her sidelined dissertation on the ascription of mental illness to women in the criminal justice system: according to her Web site, she misspent her … Read More
August 11, 2009
Sociology of Health & Illness (Volume 31, Issue 5, July 2009) is now available by subscription only. Articles Include: “Medicine and management in a comparative perspective: the case of Denmark and England” by Ian Kirkpatrick, Peter Kragh Jespersen, Mike Dent, and … Read More
August 4, 2009
This book operates at the intersection of three debates: bioethics; biomedicine; and disability/Deaf studies. It is an excellent introduction for bioethicists and others who are unfamiliar with the challenge posed by disability studies. Scully challenges thinkers to take bodies seriously, … Read More
August 3, 2009
For those interested in medical research ethics, this is an important book. With so much of the day-to-day discussions in bioethics focused on the wording of consent forms and other details, this volume raises some of the most profound issues … Read More
July 28, 2009
“Who was the most miserable kid in your seventh grade class?†asks Abigail Zuger, M.D., in her Books column in this week’s Science Times. “Was it the tiny boy who could still fit into his fourth-grade jeans? Was it the … Read More
July 1, 2009
It is common knowledge that, in nearly all developed countries, the number of persons older than 65 years is increasing, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of the general population. By some estimates, the number of those older … Read More
