Bioethics: A Culture War

by Nicholas C. Lund-Molfese (Editor), Michael L. Kelly (Editor), Nicholas C. Lund-Molfese (Contribution by), Michael Kelly Professor Emeritus, University of Southampton, UK (Contribution by), Francis Cardinal George, OMI Archbishop of Chicago (Contribution by)

Overview

The purpose of this valuable book is to consider recent cultural trends in bioethics from a Catholic perspective. The first section describes modern cultural notions of health and human suffering. It examines the meaning of suffering in the contemporary world and relates this discussion to the ethical issues surrounding abortion, euthanasia, and the competing conceptions of health. The second section discusses the philosophical origins of the culture war through an examination of the problematic bases of various forms of moral relativism and its inability to guide moral action. The third section contextualizes this abstract discussion in the current political and legal debate on biotechnology, marriage, and the family. Bioethics is intended for a lay audience interested in understanding bioethical issues from a Catholic perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761829188
Publisher:	University Press of America
Publication date:	12/07/2004
Pages:	100
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.35(d)

About the Author

Nicholas C. Lund-Molfese, M.A., J.D. is Coordinator of the Ministry in Higher Education Agency of the Archdiocese of Chicago and Director of the Integritas Institute of the John Paul II Newman Center, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Michael L. Kelly is an undergraduate at the University of Chicago studying Biology and the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Science and Medicine. He is an Ethics Fellow and member of the Healthcare Ethics Advisory Board at the Integritas Institute of the John Paul II Newman Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Editor's Note: Nicholas C. Lund-Molfese; Michael L. Kelly Chapter 2 Introduction: Francis Cardinal George Chapter 3 Part I. A Modern Culture War: Health and Human Suffering: What is the Culture War About?; What is Health? What is Disease? Chapter 4 Part II. Philosophical Roots of the Moral Debate: Are There Specific Exceptionless Moral Norms?; A Refutation of Moral Relativism Chapter 5 Part III. Law and Public Morality: Science, Law, and the Culture of Death; The Public Morality of Having Children Chapter 6 Index Chapter 7 Contributors