Bioethics

IN HIS INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOETHICS, EDITOR IN CHIEF WARREN T. REICH DEFINED BIOETHICS AS " THE SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF HUMAN CONDUCT IN THE AREA OF THE LIFE SCIENCES AND HEALTH CARE, INSOFAR AS THIS CONDUCT IS EXAMINED IN THE LIGHT OF MORAL VALUES AND PRINCIPLES." THIS DEFINITION HAS SHAPED THE PREVIOUS THREE EDITIONS OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOETHICS (1978, 1995, AND 2004) AND PROVIDES THE JUMPING OFF POINT FOR THIS NEW FOURTH EDITION, NOW SIMPLY CALLED BIOETHICS. THE SCOPE OF THIS FORMULATION DEPENDS ON WHAT ONE INCLUDES IN "THE LIFE SCIENCES," THE DEFINITION AND THE DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, AND THE METHODS OF ETHICS. THE FOURTH EDITION, LIKE IT'S PREDECESSORS, TREATS THESE ,MATTERS BROADLY AND HAS A CAPACIOUS CONCEPTION OF THE SCOPE OF BIOETHICS.