Methods in Medical Ethics
Bioethics Scholarship and Practice, Third Edition
3rd Edition
Will be published approx. on 3. August 2026
Book
Hardback
456 pages
978-1-64712-693-3 (ISBN)
Description
An essential overview of the methods of bioethics scholarship and practice-updated, expanded, and revised
The pioneering first edition of Methods in Medical Ethics was the first systematic examination of how the methods of a wide variety of disciplines can inform the analysis and understanding of issues in medical ethics. This new edition has been updated to correspond with bioethics today, covering a broader range of disciplinary perspectives and methods, not only for bioethics research but also for bioethics practice.
Bioethicists and editors Sugarman and Sulmasy have solicited chapter contributions from outstanding scholars around the globe representing a range of major disciplines that contribute to bioethics. These chapters describe important conceptual and empirical methods (e.g., qualitative and quantitative survey techniques, experiments in real-world settings, and digital ethics) used in the field. A new section on practical ethics includes chapters covering clinical ethics, research ethics, public health ethics, and public bioethics. The book emphasizes that what counts as "good" work in bioethics is determined in large part by the proper application of methods to the issues at hand. As such, it will be invaluable for students, established scholars, practitioners, and readers of the bioethics literature.
The pioneering first edition of Methods in Medical Ethics was the first systematic examination of how the methods of a wide variety of disciplines can inform the analysis and understanding of issues in medical ethics. This new edition has been updated to correspond with bioethics today, covering a broader range of disciplinary perspectives and methods, not only for bioethics research but also for bioethics practice.
Bioethicists and editors Sugarman and Sulmasy have solicited chapter contributions from outstanding scholars around the globe representing a range of major disciplines that contribute to bioethics. These chapters describe important conceptual and empirical methods (e.g., qualitative and quantitative survey techniques, experiments in real-world settings, and digital ethics) used in the field. A new section on practical ethics includes chapters covering clinical ethics, research ethics, public health ethics, and public bioethics. The book emphasizes that what counts as "good" work in bioethics is determined in large part by the proper application of methods to the issues at hand. As such, it will be invaluable for students, established scholars, practitioners, and readers of the bioethics literature.
More details
Edition
Third Edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Washington, DC
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
US School Grade: From College Freshman to College Graduate Student
Edition type
Revised edition
Illustrations
9 Figures; 12 Tables, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
898 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-64712-693-3 (9781647126933)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Jeremy Sugarman, MD, MPH, MA, is Harvey M. Meyerhoff Professor of Bioethics and Medicine at the Berman Institute of Bioethics and the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. He holds a joint appointment in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Daniel P. Sulmasy, MD, PhD, is director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics and a senior research scholar at Georgetown University. He holds a joint appointment at the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics and is the inaugural Andre Hellegers Professor of Biomedical Ethics, with co-appointments in the Department of Philosophy and Department of Medicine at Georgetown.
Daniel P. Sulmasy, MD, PhD, is director of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics and a senior research scholar at Georgetown University. He holds a joint appointment at the Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics and is the inaugural Andre Hellegers Professor of Biomedical Ethics, with co-appointments in the Department of Philosophy and Department of Medicine at Georgetown.
Content
List of Illustrations
Preface
Part I: Overview
CHAPTER 1
The Disciplines and Methods of Bioethics: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Daniel P. Sulmasy and Jeremy Sugarman
Part II: Conceptual Disciplines and Their Methods of Bioethics Scholarship
CHAPTER 2
Philosophy: Anglo-American
David DeGrazia
CHAPTER 3
Philosophy: European
Evert van Leeuwen
CHAPTER 4
Philosophy: Professional Codes of Ethics
Edmund D. Pellegrino
CHAPTER 5
Philosophy: Casuistry
Albert R. Jonsen
CHAPTER 6
Philosophy: Standpoint Theory and Intersectionality-Gender, Race, and Disability
Lisa S. Parker, Joel Michael Reynolds, and Patrick T. Smith
CHAPTER 7
Religion and Theology: Western/Abrahamic
M. Therese Lysaught, Jonathan K. Crane, and Aasim I. Padela
CHAPTER 8
Religion and Theology: Eastern
Ruiping Fan and Ellen Y. Zhang
CHAPTER 9
Law
Mark A. Hall and Nancy M. P. King
CHAPTER 10
History
Duncan Wilson
CHAPTER 11
Literary Studies
Tod S. Chambers and Catherine Belling
Part III: Empirical Methods of Bioethics Scholarship
CHAPTER 12
Formal Literature Reviews
Daniel Strech
CHAPTER 13
Qualitative Methods: Document Reviews, Observations, Interviews, and Focus Groups
Holly A. Taylor and Skye A. Miner
CHAPTER 14
Qualitative Methods: Public Deliberation and the Delphi Technique
Vasiliki Rahimzadeh, Amy L. McGuire, Michael Burgess, and Kieran C. O'Doherty
CHAPTER 15
Quantitative Surveys
Helene Starks
CHAPTER 16
Surveys Incorporating Experimental Designs: Randomized Vignettes, Choice Experiments, and Prioritization Tasks
John F. P. Bridges, Kevin Weinfurt, and Jeremy Sugarman
CHAPTER 17
Experiments in Real-World Settings
Marion Danis, Laura C. Hanson, and Joanne M. Garrett
CHAPTER 18
Digital Ethics
Robert Ranisch, Effy Vayena, and Oliver Buchholz
Part IV: Practical Bioethics
CHAPTER 19
Clinical Ethics
Joseph A. Carrese and Janet Malek
CHAPTER 20
Research Ethics
Stephanie Morain and Neil W. Dickert
CHAPTER 21
Public Health Ethics
Justin Bernstein, Ruth R. Faden, and Nancy E. Kass
CHAPTER 22
Public Bioethics
Eric M. Meslin
Part V: Putting It All Together
CHAPTER 23
Many Methods, One Issue: Bioethics Scholarship on Substituted Judgment
Daniel P. Sulmasy
CHAPTER 24
Reading the Bioethics Literature
Daniel P. Sulmasy
Contributors
Index
Preface
Part I: Overview
CHAPTER 1
The Disciplines and Methods of Bioethics: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird
Daniel P. Sulmasy and Jeremy Sugarman
Part II: Conceptual Disciplines and Their Methods of Bioethics Scholarship
CHAPTER 2
Philosophy: Anglo-American
David DeGrazia
CHAPTER 3
Philosophy: European
Evert van Leeuwen
CHAPTER 4
Philosophy: Professional Codes of Ethics
Edmund D. Pellegrino
CHAPTER 5
Philosophy: Casuistry
Albert R. Jonsen
CHAPTER 6
Philosophy: Standpoint Theory and Intersectionality-Gender, Race, and Disability
Lisa S. Parker, Joel Michael Reynolds, and Patrick T. Smith
CHAPTER 7
Religion and Theology: Western/Abrahamic
M. Therese Lysaught, Jonathan K. Crane, and Aasim I. Padela
CHAPTER 8
Religion and Theology: Eastern
Ruiping Fan and Ellen Y. Zhang
CHAPTER 9
Law
Mark A. Hall and Nancy M. P. King
CHAPTER 10
History
Duncan Wilson
CHAPTER 11
Literary Studies
Tod S. Chambers and Catherine Belling
Part III: Empirical Methods of Bioethics Scholarship
CHAPTER 12
Formal Literature Reviews
Daniel Strech
CHAPTER 13
Qualitative Methods: Document Reviews, Observations, Interviews, and Focus Groups
Holly A. Taylor and Skye A. Miner
CHAPTER 14
Qualitative Methods: Public Deliberation and the Delphi Technique
Vasiliki Rahimzadeh, Amy L. McGuire, Michael Burgess, and Kieran C. O'Doherty
CHAPTER 15
Quantitative Surveys
Helene Starks
CHAPTER 16
Surveys Incorporating Experimental Designs: Randomized Vignettes, Choice Experiments, and Prioritization Tasks
John F. P. Bridges, Kevin Weinfurt, and Jeremy Sugarman
CHAPTER 17
Experiments in Real-World Settings
Marion Danis, Laura C. Hanson, and Joanne M. Garrett
CHAPTER 18
Digital Ethics
Robert Ranisch, Effy Vayena, and Oliver Buchholz
Part IV: Practical Bioethics
CHAPTER 19
Clinical Ethics
Joseph A. Carrese and Janet Malek
CHAPTER 20
Research Ethics
Stephanie Morain and Neil W. Dickert
CHAPTER 21
Public Health Ethics
Justin Bernstein, Ruth R. Faden, and Nancy E. Kass
CHAPTER 22
Public Bioethics
Eric M. Meslin
Part V: Putting It All Together
CHAPTER 23
Many Methods, One Issue: Bioethics Scholarship on Substituted Judgment
Daniel P. Sulmasy
CHAPTER 24
Reading the Bioethics Literature
Daniel P. Sulmasy
Contributors
Index