Table of Contents

Each chapter ends with a Conclusion.
PART I. MORAL FOUNDATIONS
1. Moral Norms
Normative and Nonnormative Ethics
The Common Morality as Universal Morality
Particular Moralities as Nonuniversal
Moral Dilemmas
A Framework of Moral Norms
Conflicting Moral Norms
2. Moral Character
The Concept of Moral Virtue
Virtues in Professional Roles
The Virtue of Caring
Five Focal Virtues
Moral Ideals
Moral Excellence
3. Moral Status
The Problem of Moral Status
Theories of Moral Status
From Theories to Practical Guidelines
The Moral Significance of Moral Status
Vulnerable Populations and Vulnerable Individuals
PART II. MORAL PRINCIPLES
4. Respect for Autonomy
The Concept of Autonomy and the Principle of Respect for Autonomy
The Capacity for Autonomous Choice
The Meaning and Justification of Informed Consent
Disclosure
Understanding
Voluntariness
5. Nonmaleficence
The Concept of Nonmaleficence and the Principle of Nonmaleficence
Distinctions and Rules Governing Nontreatment
Optional Treatments and Obligatory Treatments
Killing and Letting Die
The Justification of Intentionally Arranged Deaths
Problems of Group Harm
Protecting Incompetent Patients
6. Beneficence
The Concept of Beneficence and Principles of Beneficence
Obligatory Beneficence and Ideal Beneficence
Paternalism: Conflicts between Beneficence and Respect for Autonomy
Surrogate Decision Making for Incompetent Patients
Balancing Benefits, Costs, and Risks
The Value and Quality of Life
7. Justice
The Concept of Justice and Principles of Justice
Traditional Theories of Justice
Recent Theories of Justice
Fair Opportunity and Unfair Discrimination
Vulnerability, Exploitation, and Discrimination in Research
National Health Policy and the Right to Health Care
Global Health Policy and the Right to Health
Allocating, Setting Priorities, and Rationing
8. Professional-Patient Relationships
Veracity
Privacy
Confidentiality
Fidelity
Clinical Ethics and Research Ethics
The Dual Roles of Clinician and Investigator
PART III. THEORY AND METHOD
9. Moral Theories
Criteria for Assessing Moral Theories
Utilitarian Theory
Kantian Theory
Rights Theory
Virtue Theory
Convergence of Theories
10. Method and Moral Justification
Justification in Ethics
Top-Down Models: Theory and Application
Bottom-Up Models: Cases and Analogical Reasoning
Reflective Equilibrium as an Integrated Model
Common-Morality Theory
Index:

About the Author

Tom L. Beauchamp is Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University.

James F. Childress is University Professor and John Allen Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics at the University of Virginia.

Reviews

Praise for the previous edition:

"The new sixth edition of Principles of Biomedical Ethics is a welcome event. There is nothing else like it in the field of bioethics. It has easily become over the years the most used, most praised, and most distinguished book in the field. Each edition moves beyond the previous ones in important and nuanced ways. Beauchamp and Childress keep up with the ever-changing terrain of bioethics, and work hard to refine their own arguments. It gets better and better. One can hardly ask for
more."--Daniel Callahan, Director, International Program, The Hastings Center
"What is by far the best general book on bioethics has gotten even better. The new material on international justice and virtue ethics is especially valuable. Such a combination of accessibility and rigor is rarely attained."--Allen Buchanan, James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy and James B. Duke Professor of Public Policy Studies, Duke University
"This sixth edition of Principles of Biomedical Ethics reaffirms its undisputed stature as a canonical text for the world's bioethicists. It maintains a standard of scholarship and clarity appealing to neophytes and seasoned scholars, to adherents and critics of its principled approach."--Edmund D. Pellegrino, Chairman, President's Council on Bioethics
"The contemporary field of bioethics is unimaginable, absent this text. Principles of Biomedical Ethics provided a paradigmatic approach that shaped the early character of bioethics. It continues to be a source of serious debate regarding the nature of morality and the significance of bioethics. No one can understand the field of bioethics apart from this volume."--H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., M.D., Professor, Rice University and Baylor
College of Medicine
"Like all of its previous incarnations, this new edition of Principles of Biomedical Ethics offers the reader a window onto the cutting edge of contemporary bioethics. Never content to merely recycle, buff, and slap new covers on old material, Beauchamp and Childress have once again rethought fundamental issues and fully engaged with their critics (including me). Beyond merely contributing to the field of bioethics, PBE has helped to define it."--John
D. Arras, Porterfield Professor of Bioethics, University of Virginia
"Every new edition of this classic gets better and better. This is essential reading for all students and scholars of bioethics."--Bernard Lo, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Director, Program in Medical Ethics, University of California, San Francisco
"Principles of Biomedical Ethics has, over six successive editions, clarified and expanded the concepts, definitions, and arguments that make bioethics a discipline instead of random shards of opinion, sometimes astute, sometimes silly, that pass in the media for ethical commentary on medicine and science. This book is the thesaurus of bioethical discourse."--Albert R. Jonsen, Professor Emeritus, Department of Medical History and Ethics, University
of Washington
"The sixth edition of Principles of Biomedical Ethics, which more than any other book has helped to shape the field of biomedical ethics, is even better than the previous five editions. Beauchamp and Childress continue to listen to their critics, of whom I am one, and to change their book accordingly. Although I still have some problems with the theory of principlism, I have nothing but admiration for their comprehensive and detailed discussion of the
moral problems that arise in the field of medicine."--Bernard Gert, Stone Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, Dartmouth College
"Anyone with an interest in the field, including all those who have already been influenced by previous editions of Principles of Biomedical Ethics--and who in our field hasn't been, directly or indirectly?--should read the sixth edition. They will find the by-now familiar principles treated in new ways and, more importantly, thoughtful examinations of global health and of the relationship of vulnerability and exploitation to the often-neglected
principle of justice. This book is now essential reading not only for those who grapple with clinical dilemmas and the challenges of biomedical research but also for anyone working on the frontiers of public health,
where global epidemics and routine surveillance raise some of the most difficult issues in bioethics."--Alexander M. Capron, University Professor, University of Southern California, and Former Director, Ethics, Trade, Human Rights and Health Law, World Health Organization