Medicine and Moral Reasoning

This collection examines prevalent assumptions in moral reasoning which are often accepted uncritically in medical ethics. It introduces a range of perspectives from philosophy and medicine on the nature of moral reasoning and relates these to illustrative problems such as New Reproductive Technologies the treatment of sick children the assessment of quality of life genetics involuntary psychiatric treatment and abortion. In each case the contributors address the nature and worth of the moral theories involved in discussions of the relevant issues and focus on the types of reasoning which are employed. ''Medical ethics is in danger of becoming a subject kept afloat by a series of platitudes about respect for persons or the importance of autonomy. This book is a bold and imaginative attempt to break away from such rhetoric into genuine informative dialogue between philosophers and doctors with no search after consensus.'' Mary Warnock