Henk ten Have studied medicine and philosophy at Leiden University, the Netherlands (MD 1976; PhD 1983). He worked as researcher (Pathology Laboratory, University of Leiden, as practicing physician in the Municipal Health Services (Rotterdam) before being appointed as Professor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limburg, and subsequently as Professor of Medical Ethics and Director of the Department of Ethics, Philosophy and History of Medicine in the University Medical Centre Nijmegen, the Netherlands. In 2003 he joined UNESCO as Director of the Division of Ethics of Science and Technology. Since 2010 until 2019 he was Director of the Center for Healthcare Ethics at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, USA. His latest books are: Global Bioethics; An Introduction (2016), Vulnerability; Challenging Bioethics (2016) and Wounded Planet (2019).
This book demonstrates that the COVID 19 pandemic asks for a a global approach to bioethics. it describes how the pandemic affects the experience of being in a world that is intrinsically characterized by global connectivity. It demonstrates that a moral vision is necessary to articulate this experience of connectedness. Subsequently, a perspective of global bioethics is introduced, which provides a broader framework than mainstream bioethics, since it highlights the significance of both vulnerability and solidarity. Through a unique global perspective the book addresses the moral challenges of the pandemic, and places the confrontation with death, disease and disability within a wider framework of ethical concerns. This book is of important in the public debate on infectious diseases, and of relevance to health professionals, global health educators, public health experts,as well as policy makers.