Hei umstritten: Stammzell- und Embryonenforschung, Gentechnologie, Euthanasie. Was ist ethisch vertretbar? Marcus Duwell stellt die Diskussionen um die Grenzen menschlichen Handelns, um Leben und Natur und um den wissenschaftlichen Fortschritt auf ein philosophisches Fundament. Er erlautert Geschichte, Methoden und Begriffe der Bioethik und geht der Frage nach: Wie ist die veranderte Welt moralphilosophisch zu bewerten? Das Grundlagenwerk hilft bei der Orientierung.

CHRISTOPH REHMANN-SUTTER, MARCUS DUWELL, DIETMAR MIETH When we placed "finitude," "limits of human existence" as a motto over a round of discussion on biomedicine and bioethics (which led to this collection of essays) we did not know how far this would lead us into methodological quandaries. However, we felt intuitively that an interdisciplinary approach including social and cultural sciences would have an advantage over a solely disciplinary (philosophical or theological) analysis. Bioethics, if it is to have adequate discriminatory power, should include sensitivity to the cultural contexts...

A philosophically-oriented introduction to bioethics, this book offers the reader an overview of key current debates in bioethics in areas including organ retrieval, stem cell research, justice in healthcare and issues in environmental ethics, including issues surrounding food and agriculture.

The history of human rights suggests that individuals should be empowered in their natural, political, political, social and economic vulnerabilities. States within the international arena hold each other responsible for doing just that and support or interfere where necessary. States are to protect these essential human vulnerabilities, even when this is not a matter of self-interest. This function of human rights is recognized in contexts of intervention, genocide, humanitarian aid and development.

This book develops the idea of environmental obligations as long-term...