Principles of Biomedical Ethics

“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 everchanging 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, M.D., 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

Principles of Biomedical Ethics 6th Edition is written by Tom L. Beauchamp, Kennedy Institute of Ethics and Department of Philosophy Georgetown University;… and published by Oxford University Press, USA. The Digital and eTextbook ISBNs for Principles of Biomedical Ethics are 9780195335705 and the print ISBNs are 9780199899722, 019989972X