The History and Future of Bioethics

A Sociological View

John H. Evans

An unorthodox history of the profession of bioethics and bioethical debate itself
The most complete explanation available of the history of bioethics, and especially on the divorce between religion and bioethics
A controversial proposal for restructuring bioethical debate in order to solve its problems, which includes the claim that self-identified bioethicists no longer participate in particular debates in order to strengthen their position elsewhere
Proposes that government bioethics commissions fundamentally restructure their activities to make their claims more appropriate for a representative democracy

The History and Future of Bioethics

A Sociological View

John H. Evans

Description

It seems like every day society faces a new ethical challenge raised by a scientific innovation. Human genetic engineering, stem cell research, face transplantation, synthetic biology - all were science fiction only a few decades ago, but now are all reality. How do we as a society decide whether these technologies are ethical? For decades professional bioethicists have served as mediators between a busy public and its decision-makers, helping people understand their own ethical concerns, framing arguments, discrediting illogical claims, and supporting promising ones. These bioethicists play an instrumental role in guiding governments' ethical policy decisions, consulting for hospitals faced with vital decisions, and advising institutions that conduct research on humans.
Although the bioethics profession has functioned effectively for many years, it is now in crisis. Policy-makers are less inclined to take the advice of bioethics professionals, with many observers saying that bioethics debates have simply become partisan politics with dueling democratic and republican bioethicists. While this crisis is contained to the task of recommending ethical policy to the government, there is risk that it will spread to the other tasks conducted by bioethicists.
To understand how this crisis came about and to arrive at a solution, John H. Evans closely examines the history of the bioethics profession. Bioethics debates were originally dominated by theologians, but came to be dominated by the emerging bioethics profession due to the subtle and slow involvement of the government as the primary consumer of bioethical arguments. After the 1980s, however, the views of the government changed, making bioethical arguments less legitimate. Exploring the sociological processes that lead to the evolution of bioethics to where it is today, Evans proposes a radical solution to the crisis. Bioethicists must give up its inessential functions, change the way they make ethical arguments, and make conscious and explicit steps toward re-establishing the profession's legitimacy as a mediator between the public and government decision-makers.

"John Evans provides a trenchant reconstruction of the waxing and waning influence of theology on the bioethics canon, as well as an original proposal for a social science-based bioethics. This book will fascinate and instruct anyone interested in where we have been and where we should go in our societal conversation about deep human values."- Jonathan Moreno, University of Pennsylvania

The History and Future of Bioethics

A Sociological View

John H. Evans

Preface
Introduction
PART 1: THE HISTORY OF BIOETHICAL DEBATE
AND THE BIOETHICS PROFESSION
Chapter 1: The Emergence of Bioethical Debate and the Jurisdictional Struggle Between Science and Theology
Chapter 2: The Theological Retreat, and the Emergence of the Bioethics Profession
PART II: CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE JURISDICTIONAL CRISIS
Chapter 3: The Rise of The Social Movement Activists
PART III: TOWARD A NEW ERA OF BIOETHICAL DEBATE
Chapter 4: Task Clarification, Saying "No" in Public Policy Bioethics, and Making
the Argument for Jurisdiction
Chapter 5: A Modified Method for the Bioethics Profession
Chapter 6: Conclusion
Works Cited

The History and Future of Bioethics

A Sociological View

John H. Evans

Author Information

John H. Evans is professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. He has held visiting positions at the Institute for Advanced Study and Yale, Edinburgh, and Muenster Universities. He is the author of two books on bioethics, religion and genetics, as well as many articles about science, religion, and public controversies.

The History and Future of Bioethics

A Sociological View

John H. Evans

Reviews and Awards

"Evans contends that bioethicists need to stand firm on articulating models of ethical decision making for the public good without providing answers through dogma or political or religious beliefs. For public policy and applied ethical thinkers, not philosophers. Summing up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above." -- K.E. Murphy, Northwestern University, CHOICE

"This honest, outside perspective on the history of and current crisis in bioethics is truly a delight in a field often dominated by activists proclaiming opinion as universal truth....this book deserves a close read by all who consider themselves bioethicists." -- DOODY'S

"The History and Future of Bioethics is an exceptionally insightful source of perspective on the formation of the field over the decades." -- Paul Lauritzen, Commonweal

"If you will be teaching a course in bioethics in the near future, you might want to assign the books here under review, even if you haven't read them... In many ways, it is a powerful narrative, bolstered by sociological theory about how professions form, exercise authority, and in some cases, fade... Evans's account of the erosion of the authority of bioethicists in the realm of public policy is deeply compelling." -- Paul Lauritzen, The Hastings Center Report

"[A]nyone involved in bioethics should read [this book] because it provides a very useful, important and insightful historical account of the political and social contingencies that have led to the current state of bioethics in America -- and for that reason alone it is worth reading." -Jonathan Ives, Contemporary Sociology