In April, the Center for Public Engagement with Science (PEWS) hosted “A Conversation on Bioethical Responsibilities in 21st Century Crises” a virtual book launch for the new collection edited by PEWS faculty affiliate Elizabeth Lanphier, and Larry R. Churchill, Stahlman Professor of Medical Ethics Emeritus at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The talk featured the editors and several of the collection’s authors: Johnathan Flowers, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, California State University, Northridge; Takunda Matose, Research Assistant Professor, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; Lisa S. Parker, Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote Professor of Bioethics, University of Pittsburgh; and Travis Rieder, Associate Research Professor, Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University.
Bioethical Responsibilities in Twenty-First Century Crises is a collection of essays that argues for an expanded role and scope for the field of bioethics to tackle the pressing challenges confronting health and healthcare: challenges to and for individuals, communities, institutions, and the planet we inhabit – now and on the horizon. It describes how the field of bioethics has changed over the past 50 years, and the importance of continued change to meet new biomedical technologies and healthcare delivery systems. The various essays explore new ways of understanding the interconnection of health and healthcare in light of climate change and planetary health, along with the need for new social policies and practices. Political systems and capitalistic commitments within a democracy are also critically examined.
The discussion with this selection of the book’s authors not only addressed their individual contributions to the collection, but also what each of them sees as the role for bioethics and bioethicists in the present moment, a year after these chapters were finalized for publication. While it was a conversation among philosophers and bioethicists, it is really for anyone grappling with how to think about the intersection of health, healthcare, and social, political, environmental, and economic realities.
We invite you to watch the full recording on the PEWS YouTube page.
