Main description:

This book assembles essays by thinkers who were at the center of the German post World War II development of ethical thought in medicine. It records their strategies for overcoming initial resistance among physicians and philosophers and (in the East) politicians. This work traces their different approaches, such as socialist versus liberal bioethics; illustrates their attempt to introduce a culture of dialogue in medicine; and examines their moral ambiguities inherent to the institutionalization of bioethics and in law. Furthermore, the essays in this work pay special attention to the problem of ethics expertise in the context of a pluralism, which the intellectual mainstream of the country seeks to reduce to "varieties of post-traditionalism". Finally, this book addresses the problem of "patient autonomy",and highlights the difficulty of harmonizing commitment to professional integrity with the project of enhancing physician's responsiveness to suffering patients. As these essays illustrate, the development of bioethics in Germany does not follow a linear line of progressiveness, but rather retains a sense of the traditional ethos of the guild. An ethos, however, that is challenged by moral pluralism in such a way that, even today, still requires adequate solutions. A must read for all academics interested in the origins and the development of bioethics.

Contents:

Part 1: Initial Impediments to Ethical Reflection in Medicine. Chapter 1. The History of Medicine as Inspiration for Medico-Ethical Reflection in Germany: Memories from the Free Zone of Historiography (Richard Toellner).- Chapter 2. Human Genetics Between the Physician's Ethos and Bio-Politics: From Eugenics to Human Gene Technology (Rolf Loether).- Chapter 3. The Development of Doctors' Ethics into Medical Ethics in the German Democratic Republic and its Impact on Medical Education (Ernst Luther).- Part 2: The Culture of Dialogue in Medical and Bio-ethics. Chapter 4. Socialist Social Policy as the Basis of the Physician's Ethos in the German Democratic Republic: Humanist Ideals and Economic Realities (Horst Spaar).- Chapter 5. Bioethics and the Defense of a Culture of Liberalism: Philosophical Rationality in the Spirit of Modesty (Gunther Patzig).- Chapter 6. Contributions by Protestant Theology to Medical Ethics and Bio-Ethics in Germany (Jurgen Hubner).- Part 3: The Institutionalization of Expertise in Medical and Bio-ethics. Chapter 7. Legal Duties, the Physician's Ethos, and Ways of Dealing with Damage Resulting from Medical Treatment in the German Democratic Republic (Ernst Gunther).- Chapter 8. A German Path toward Bioethics (Hans Bernhard Wuermeling).- Chapter 9. Philosophy and Ethical Advisory Boards in German Medicine (Ludwig Siep).- Chapter 10. The Development of Medical Ethics Institutions in West Berlin (Ruth Mattheis).- Part 4: The Focus on Responsiveness to Patients. Chapter 11. Ethical Challenges of the Dying Patient: Managing Cooperation Between Physicians and Caretakers (Susanne Hahn).- Chapter 12. Ethical Elements in Thure von Uexkull's Psychosomatic Thought (Hans Wedler).