Methods in Medical Ethics

by Jeremy Sugarman (Editor)

Medical ethics draws upon methods from a wide array of disciplines, including anthropology, economics, epidemiology, health services research, history, law, medicine, nursing, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theology.

In this influential book, outstanding scholars in medical ethics bring these many methods together in one place to be systematically described, critiqued, and challenged. Newly revised and updated chapters in this second edition include philosophy, religion and theology, virtue and professionalism, casuistry and clinical ethics, law, history, qualitative research, ethnography, quantitative surveys, experimental methods, and economics and decision science. This second edition also includes new chapters on literature and sociology, as well as a second chapter on philosophy which expands the range of philosophical methods discussed to include gender ethics, communitarianism, and discourse ethics. In each of these chapters, contributors provide descriptions of the methods, critiques, and notes on resources and training.

Methods in Medical Ethics is a valuable resource for scholars, teachers, editors, and students in any of the disciplines that have contributed to the field. As a textbook and reference for graduate students and scholars in medical ethics, it offers a rich understanding of the complexities involved in the rigorous investigation of moral questions in medical practice and research.

Genres: Medicine, Philosophy

368 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2001

Reviews

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A very good, thorough introduction to the various disciplines of medical ethics (philosophy, psychology, sociology, law, etc.) and the main methods in use in each. The reference pages also appear to be quite thorough as well. I felt that a few important considerations were left out of the chapters on disciplines or methods with which I am most familiar (decision science, survey research, and experimental methods), so I suspect readers in other disciplines might say the same (though possibly not, since most of the chapters had different authors). I know I can’t expect the book to be exhaustive, but there were a couple more things I would have liked to see discussed. The parts that gave a background of medical ethics as a whole or synthesized across disciplines (particularly the last two chapters, which used one bioethical issue to illustrate the approaches and contributions of different disciplines and methods and then reviewed tips for recognizing sound scholarship in each discipline, respectively) were excellent. A great starting point, if slightly less detailed about some things than I went in expecting.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid meh. All I can say is that this book exists, and provides a decent overview to methods in biomedical ethics. The problem with the book is deeper: Are there actually any methods in medical ethics? This book does a good job covering the major differences between prescriptive philosophy and descriptive social science, but if you actually want to *do* any of this stuff at a graduate level, you'll need a lot more education. And if you want to do bioethics in a clinical setting--well, that's an entirely different conversation.