Human Dignity and Bioethics:Essays Commissioned by the President's Council on Bioethics

The President's Council on Bioethics
Washington, D.C., March 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Letter of Transmittal
• Members of the President's Council on Bioethics    
• Council Staff and Consultants
• Acknowledgments

Introduction

• Chapter 1: Bioethics and the Question of Human Dignity (Schulman)
• Chapter 2: Human Dignity and Respect for Persons: A Historical Perspective on Public Bioethics (Davis)

Part 1: Dignity and Modern Science

• Chapter 3: How to Protect Human Dignity from Science (Dennett)
• Chapter 4: Human Dignity and the Mystery of the Human Soul (Kraynak)
  • Commentary on Kraynak (Dennett)
  • Commentary on Dennett (Kraynak)
  • Commentary on Dennett (Gómez-Lobo)
• Chapter 5: Human Dignity from a Neurophilosophical Perspective (Churchland)
  • Commentary on Churchland (Meilaender)

Part 2: Human Nature and the Future of Man

• Chapter 6: Human Uniqueness and Human Dignity: Persons in Nature and the Nature of Persons (Rolston)
• Chapter 7: Human Dignity and the Future of Man (Rubin)
• Chapter 8: Dignity and Enhancement (Bostrom)

Part 3: Dignity and Modern Culture

• Chapter 9: Human Dignity and Public Discourse (Neuhaus)
• Chapter 10: Modern and American Dignity (Lawler)
• Chapter 11: Human Dignity: Exploring and Explicating the Council's Vision (Meilaender)
  • Commentary on Meilaender and Dennett (Lawler)
  • Commentary on Meilaender and Dennett (Schaub)

Part 4: The Source and Meaning of Dignity

• Chapter 12: Defending Human Dignity (Kass)
• Chapter 13: Kant's Concept of Human Dignity as a Resource for Bioethics (Shell)
• Chapter 14: Human Dignity and Political Entitlements (Nussbaum)
  • Commentary on Nussbaum, Shell, and Kass (Schaub)
• Chapter 15: The Irreducibly Religious Character of Human Dignity (Gelernter)

Part 5: Theories of Human Dignity

• Chapter 16: The Nature and Basis of Human Dignity (Lee, George)
• Chapter 17: Two Arguments From Human Dignity (Weithman)
• Chapter 18: Dignity and Bioethics: History, Theory, and Selected Applications (Sulmasy)

Part 6: Human Dignity and the Practice of Medicine

• Chapter 19: Human Dignity and the Seriously Ill Patient (Dresser)
• Chapter 20: The Lived Experience of Human Dignity (Pellegrino)
• Contributors