This collection of essays, commissioned by the President s Council on Bioethics, explores a fundamental concept crucial to today s discourse in law and ethics in general and in bioethics in particular. Since its formation in 2001, the council has frequently used the term human dignity in its discussions and reports. In this volume scholars from the fields of philosophy, medicine and medical ethics, law, political science, and public policy address the issue of what the concept of human dignity entails and its proper role in bioethical controversies. "Human Dignity and Bioethics" is an...

Several presidents have created bioethics councils to advise their administrations on the importance, meaning and possible implementation or regulation of rapidly developing biomedical technologies. From 2001 to 2005, the President's Council on Bioethics, created by President George W. Bush, was under the leadership of Leon Kass. The Kass Council, as it was known, undertook what Adam Briggle describes as a more rich understanding of its task than that of previous councils. The council sought to understand what it means to advance human flourishing at the intersection of philosophy,...