The Body in Bioethics / Edition 1

by Alastair V. Campbell

Overview

Recent debates about uses and abuses of the human body in medicine have highlighted the need for a thorough discussion of the ethics of the uses of bodies, both living and dead.

Thorough and comprehensive, this volume explores different views of the significance of the human body and contrasting those which regard it as a commodity or personal possession with those which stress its moral value as integral to the personal identity of individuals. The Body in Bioethics addresses a number of key questions including:

• Should it be legal to sell human organs for transplantation?
• Are public displays of plastinated bodies or public autopsies morally justifiable?
• Should there be restrictions on the uses of human tissue in teaching and research?
• Is the rapid increase in volume and range of cosmetic surgery a matter for moral concern?

This careful study of moral values provides essential background to many of the current controversies in medical ethics and is essential reading for all students of law, medical law and medical ethics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781844720576
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/03/2009
Series:	Biomedical Law and Ethics Library
Pages:	164
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alastair V. Campbell is Professor Emeritus of Ethics in Medicine at the University of Bristol. He is founding editor of the Journal of Medical Ethics, a past President of the International Association of Bioethics and the author of ten books and numerous articles in the field. He is currently Chen Su Lan Centennial Chair in Medical Ethics at the National University of Singapore.

Table of Contents

1. Why the Body Matters 2. My Body – Property, Commodity or Gift? 3. Body Futures 4. The Tissue Trove 5. The Branded Body 6. Gifts from the Dead 7. Together at Last

Editorial Reviews

'The Body in Bioethics is an eloquent and essential argument for taking the reality of human embodiment seriously rather than treating the corporeal body as a mere container for the mind. Alastair Campbell melds a subtle understanding of philosophy with abundant experience as teacher, scholar, and public intellectual to challenge regnant ideas about the body as property, tissue donation, and trade in human organs among other controversial issues. Rich with philosophical insights and practical wisdom, The Body in Bioethics will enlighten all who read it.'

Dr Thomas Murray, President and CEO of The Hastings Centre, New York, USA

'In this elegantly written work, Alastair Campbell makes a powerful case for the resurrection of respect for the human body in bioethics. Swimming against the tide of much of current bioethical debates, Professor Campbell draws both on his distinguished record in moral philosophy and his recent practical engagement with the Retained Organs Commission and the Ethics and Governance Council of UK Biobank. The Body in Bioethics ought to prompt all its readers to reflect again on the centrality of those bodies we inhabit.'

Professor Margaret Brazier, Professor in Law at the University of Manchester and Co-Director of the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy

 

'The Body in Bioethics is an eloquent and essential argument for taking the reality of human embodiment seriously rather than treating the corporeal body as a mere container for the mind. Alastair Campbell melds a subtle understanding of philosophy with abundant experience as teacher, scholar, and public intellectual to challenge regnant ideas about the body as property, tissue donation, and trade in human organs among other controversial issues. Rich with philosophical insights and practical wisdom, The Body in Bioethics will enlighten all who read it.'

Dr Thomas Murray, President and CEO of The Hastings Centre, New York, USA

'In this elegantly written work, Alastair Campbell makes a powerful case for the resurrection of respect for the human body in bioethics. Swimming against the tide of much of current bioethical debates, Professor Campbell draws both on his distinguished record in moral philosophy and his recent practical engagement with the Retained Organs Commission and the Ethics and Governance Council of UK Biobank. The Body in Bioethics ought to prompt all its readers to reflect again on the centrality of those bodies we inhabit.'

Professor Margaret Brazier, Professor in Law at the University of Manchester and Co-Director of the Centre for Social Ethics and Policy

From the Publisher