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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bioethics | 7/7 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioethics | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T16:33:10.462736+00:00 | kb-cron |
== Criticism == As a field of study, bioethics has also drawn criticism. For instance, Paul Farmer noted that bioethics tends to focus its attention on problems that arise from "too much care" for patients in industrialized nations while giving little or no attention to the ethical problem of too little care for the poor. Farmer characterizes the bioethics of handling morally difficult clinical situations, normally in hospitals in industrialized countries, as "quandary ethics". He does not regard quandary ethics and clinical bioethics as unimportant; he argues, rather, that bioethics must be balanced and give due weight to the poor. Additionally, bioethics has been condemned for its lack of diversity in thought, particularly concerning race. Even as the field has grown to include the areas of public opinion, policymaking, and medical decision-making, little to no academic writing has been authored concerning the intersection between race–especially the cultural values imbued in that construct–and bioethical literature. John Hoberman illustrates this in a 2016 critique, in which he points out that bioethicists have been traditionally resistant to expanding their discourse to include sociological and historically relevant applications. Central to this is the notion of white normativity, which establishes the dominance of white hegemonic structures in bioethical academia and tends to reinforce existing biases. These points and critiques, along with the neglect of women's perspectives within bioethics, have also been discussed amongst feminist bioethical scholars. However, differing views on bioethics' lack of diversity of thought and social inclusivity have also been advanced. For example, one historian has argued that the diversity of thought and social inclusivity are the two essential cornerstones of bioethics, albeit they have not been fully realized. In order to practice critical bioethics, bioethicists must base their investigations in empirical research, refute ideas with facts, engage in self-reflection, and be skeptical of the assertions made by other bioethicists, scientists, and doctors. A thorough normative study of actual moral experience is what is intended.
== Issues == Research in bioethics is conducted by a broad and interdisciplinary community of scholars, and is not restricted only to those researchers who define themselves as "bioethicists": it includes researchers from the humanities, social sciences, health sciences and health professions, law, the fundamental sciences, etc. These researchers may be working in specialized bioethics centers and institutes associated with university bioethics training programs; but they may also be based in disciplinary departments without a specific bioethics focus. Notable examples of research centers include, amongst others, The Hastings Center, the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, the Yale Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, the Centre for Human Bioethics. Areas of bioethics research that are the subject of published, peer-reviewed bioethical analysis include:
== See also ==
== References ==
== Further reading == Eric Racine (2025). The Theory of Deliberative Wisdom. MIT Press. ISBN 9780262381994. Bosworth, Fred (2001). Christ the Healer (PDF). Revell. ISBN 0-8007-5739-4. Henk ten Have (2025). Color, Healthcare and Bioethics. Open Book Publishers. doi:10.11647/obp.0443. ISBN 978-1-80511-486-4. DeGrazia, David; Millum, Joseph (2021). A Theory of Bioethics. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781009026710.
== External links ==
Bioethics: A Coursebook Bioethics entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. "Feminist Bioethics" at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy "MyBioethics" – a free online resource (app) for learning bioethics through real cases. Bioethics : Foundations (see appropriate section)