Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Beauchamp)) [Paperback]

Tom L. Beauchamp (Author), James F. Childress (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195335708 | ISBN-13: 978-0195335705 | Publication Date: May 23, 2008 | Edition: 6

Building on the best-selling tradition of previous editions, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Sixth Edition, provides a highly original, practical, and insightful guide to morality in the health professions. Acclaimed authors Tom L. Beauchamp and James F. Childress thoroughly develop and advocate for four principles that lie at the core of moral reasoning in health care: respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, and justice. Drawing from contemporary research--and integrating detailed case studies and vivid real-life examples and scenarios--they demonstrate how these prima facie principles can be expanded to apply to various conflicts and dilemmas, from how to deliver bad news to whether or not to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatments.
Illuminating both theory and method throughout, Principles of Biomedical Ethics, Sixth Edition, considers what constitutes moral character and addresses the problem of moral status: what rights are due to people and animals, and when. It also examines the professional-patient relationship, surveys major philosophical theories--including utilitarianism, Kantianism, rights theory, and Communitarianism--and describes methods of moral justification in bioethics. Ideal for courses in biomedical ethics, bioethics, and health care ethics, the text is enhanced by hundreds of annotated citations and a substantial introduction that clarifies key terms and concepts.

Features of the Sixth Edition:
* Integrates case studies throughout the text, rather than presenting them in an appendix as in previous editions
* A new chapter on moral status (Chapter 3)
* Extensively revised and expanded material on the theory of the common morality (Chapters 1 and 10)
* A reworked discussion of the ethics of care as a form of virtue ethics (Chapter 2)
* Revised and updated treatments of nonmaleficence and beneficence, which take into account recent legal and philosophical literature and discussions (Chapters 5 and 6)
* A new section on vulnerability and exploitation as it applies to justice (Chapter 7)
* A more concise treatment of the principles of biomedical ethics throughout the text, featuring developed, refined, and modified perspectives

Editorial Reviews

Review

"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. It culls the new and the old with precision and adds a new chapter on moral status. Anyone hoping to stay current with the continuing evolution of bioethics must read this update."--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

"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. I plan to use this edition, as I have used previous editions, as one of the primary texts in my course in Philosophy of Medicine."--Bernard Gert, Stone Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy, Dartmouth College

"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

"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

About the Author

Tom L. Beauchap is a Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University. James F. Childress is Hollingsworth Professor of Ethics and Professor of Medical Education at the University of Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 6 edition (May 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195335708
• ISBN-13: 978-0195335705
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Medical Books > Medicine > Medical Ethics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You CAN Tell a Book by its Cover, October 2, 2000

By 

Ernest G. Barr - See all my reviews

This review is from: Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Paperback)

Book Review PRINCIPLES OF BIOMEDICAL ETHICS Tom L. Beauchamnp and James F. Childress

"You can't tell a book by it's cover." Don't you believe it! Principles of Biomedical Ethics by Beauchamp and Childress is every bit as formidable as it's cover might suggest. That is not to say that the book is poorly written or inadequate in any way. It is just that this reviewer is a student, whose professor, at the end of the course confessed to the class the the text was indeed a demanding work requiring proportional effort on the part of the student. Granting that, it was the best of several texts he had examined.

After setting the stage, in chapter one with a discussion of approaches to ethics, the authors, in chapter two, deliniate in detail, eight classical ethical theories, which form the foundation of the study. Through liberal use of examples, the authors reveal that all theories have both weaknesses as well as strengths and that to rely on one theory to the exclusion of others is indeed a hightly questionable approach to ethical decision making.

In the subsequent six chapters, the authors continue with a wealth of case studies, elaborate on the importance of autonomy, privacy and dangers of paternalism; they discuss the elements of nonmaleficence and beneficence as essential elements in the Hippocratic oath. Distictions are made between killing and letting die. Arguments are made for and against the use of medically administered nutrition and hydration. Balancing prima facie norms to provide treatment and for truth telling are examined and the extenuating circumstances when these seemingly basic tenets may not be appropriate are discussed.

The authors have not dodged the knotty problems of availability of organs for transplantation, rationing of scarce treatments and health care resources, costs of health care or the concepts or theories of justice as they relate to health care. The appendix consists of ten case histories. There is a abundance of footnotes at the end of each chapter sufficient to satisfy the most rigorous student.

This is not a book for the casual reader. But for someone desiring an in depth treatment of current issues in health care from the standpoint of the physician, chaplain or health care administrator, I recommend this book without reservation.

Ernest G. Barr

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Text, October 17, 2001

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Beauchamp)) (Paperback)

This is the most recent edition of a first rate textbook on the difficult topic of medical ethics. The authors' approach is neither to attempt to derive a set of guidelines from abstract moral theory nor to be completely empirical in the sense of simply assessing what clinicians and researchers do when dealing with moral issues. The approach of this book is to extract a series of important principles from the best aspects of practice and then to generalize these principles. The 4 basic principles set out by the authors are respect for autonomy, non-maleficience, beneficience, and justice. The book is divided into a series of well written and integrated chapters covering the basic rationale for the authors' approach, each of the principles, professional-patient relations, and concluding with a set of chapters covering basic moral theories and how the authors' approach fits in with moral theory and competing approaches.

This book has many virtues. The basic approach is strong and practical. Each principle and the exposition of each principle is embedded in real clinical moral problems. The authors make the interesting and important point that none of these principles have priority over another and that balances need to be sought between these principles. This book is simultaneously an excellent exposition of a strong approach to medical ethics and useful reference source to clarify thinking. The bibliography is excellent. Some of the chapters, notably the sections on autonomy and those on justice, are outstanding. The quality of writing is clear and the sections are distinguished by clarity of thought. The authors set themselves objective of writing a book that would combine a high level of rigor and would be useful, reaching a mixed audience of physicians, researchers, and others concerned with medical ethics. They have succeeded.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book on biomedical ethics, August 25, 2009

By 

William Podmore (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Principles of Biomedical Ethics (Beauchamp)) (Paperback)

Tom Beauchamp, of Georgetown University, and James Childress, of the University of Virginia, have produced a splendid sixth edition of their classic book on biomedical ethics. Throughout, the authors sensitively discuss real life dilemmas.

Part 1 looks at moral foundations: moral norms, moral character and moral status. Part 2 studies what the authors define as the four key moral principles, general norms of our common morality: respect for autonomy, doing no harm, beneficence and justice. Part 3 examines moral theories and moral justification.

They argue that there is not just one supreme moral value, a single absolute yardstick to solve every ethical problem. They write, "The problems of bioethics are often problems of getting just the right specification or balance of principles. Principles should never be conceived as trumps that allow them alone to determine a right outcome. ... rights, like all principles and rules of obligation, are prima facie (i.e., presumptively) valid claims that sometimes must yield to other claims."

To aid our moral deliberation and decision-making, we need to consider our actions or inactions in regard to dilemmas in the light of each of the principles. "Principles need to be made specific for cases, and case analysis needs illumination from general principles." Putting the four principles of bioethics into practice results in moral behaviour.

The authors argue that respect for autonomy is not necessarily individualistic, rationalist or legalistic. With beneficence, we must take responsibility for our community, competently, compassionately and cooperatively.

The authors argue that justice entails that governments fund health care, as our collective social protection against threats to health. Justice (fairness and equity) and utility (efficiency) are essential to health care systems.

They sum up, "Policies of just access to health care, strategies of efficiency in health care institutions, and global needs for the reduction of health-impairing conditions dwarf in social importance every other issue considered in this book. ... we have proposed that society recognize global rights to health and enforceable rights to a decent minimum of health care within a framework of allocation that incorporates both utilitarian and egalitarian standards."