Methods in Medical Ethics

Medical ethics draws upon methods from a wide array of disciplines, including anthropology, economics, epidemiology, health services research, history, law, medicine, nursing, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and theology.

In this first book to systematically examine, critique, and challenge some of these disciplines and their methods in light of their influence on medical ethics, leading scholars present particular methods that have played significant roles in the field. The methods addressed include philosophy, religion and theology, professional codes, law, casuistry, history, qualitative research, ethnography, quantitative surveys, experimental methods, and economics and decision science. Reviewing each, they provide descriptions of techniques, critiques, and notes on resources and training. Physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia are used as an illustration of the richness of multidisciplinary work applied to individual issues. Similarly, genetic testing is used as an example of how multiple descriptive methods may privilege certain findings.

Methods in Medical Ethics is a valuable resource for scholars, teachers, editors, and students in any of the disciplines that have contributed to the field. As a textbook and reference for graduate students and scholars in medical ethics, it offers a rich understanding of the complexities of both moral questions and their answers.

---

Jeremy Sugarman, MD, is a professor of medicine and philosophy and the director of the Center for the Study of Medical Ethics and Humanities at Duke University. He is the editor of Ethics in Primary Care and coeditor of Beyond Consent: Seeking Justice in Research.

Daniel P. Sulmasy, OFM, MD, is the inaugural Clinton-Kilbride Professor of Medicine and Medical Ethics, Professor of Divinity, and Associate Director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics at the University of Chicago. He is the author of The Healer's Calling: A Spirituality for Physicians and Other Health Care Professionals.

---