Common Morality, Coherence, and the Principles of Biomedical Ethics

The fifth edition of Beauchamp and Childress's Principles of Biomedical Ethics is distinguished by its emphatic embrace of common morality as the ultimate source of moral norms. This essay critically evaluates the fifth edition's discussion of common morality and, to a lesser extent, its t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Kennedy Institute of Ethics journal 2003-09, Vol.13 (3), p.219-230
Main Author: DeGrazia, David
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Beneficence
Bioethics
Confidentiality
Conflicts of interest
Cultural Diversity
Ethical Theory
Ethics
Health policy
Medical ethics
Morality
Morals
Norms
Principle-Based Ethics
Principles
Social Justice
United States
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Summary:The fifth edition of Beauchamp and Childress's Principles of Biomedical Ethics is distinguished by its emphatic embrace of common morality as the ultimate source of moral norms. This essay critically evaluates the fifth edition's discussion of common morality and, to a lesser extent, its treatment of coherence (both the model of ethical justification and the associated concept). It is argued that the book is overly accommodating of existing moral beliefs. The paper concludes with three suggestions for improving this leading text.
ISSN:1054-6863
1086-3249
1086-3249
DOI:10.1353/ken.2003.0020