Medical Ethics, Ordinary Concepts and Ordinary Lives

Mainstream philosophical discussions of ethics usually involve either a search for a problem-solving theory (such as utilitarianism), or an exploration of ontological status (of things like obligations or reasons). This book will argue that such efforts are often misplaced. Instead, the proper starting point should always be the actual words and deeds of ordinary people in ordinary disagreements; for the ethical concepts in play can only derive their full meaning within the context of ordinary human lives. This will require a better understanding of the ‘ordinary’, and of what it means to lead a life.

Chris Cowley is at the University of East Anglia.

Introduction * PART I: A CRITIQUE OF MAINSTREAM MEDICAL ETHICS * How Medical Ethics has Lost the Plot * Philosophers and Expertise * Ethical Agreement and Disagreement * PART II – MATTERS OF BIRTH AND LIFE * The Miraculous and the Banal * The Clash of Perspectives * The Abortion Debates * PART III: MATTERS OF LIFE AND DEATH * The Shape of Life * The Problem of Suicide * Making Sense of Dementia * Human Bodies * The Euthanasia Debate(s) * Bibliography