Air Date:10/03/2006

Air Time:3:00 PM EST

Length:1 Hour 21 Minutes 8 Seconds

Description:Recent, well-publicized debates in bioethics have revolved around highly charged issues such as stem cell research and physician-assisted suicide. Although the bioethics literature goes well beyond these topics, it still fails to explore many of the issues encompassed by the term “bioethics” as broadly conceived by Van Rensselaer Potter, the biochemist who coined it. This lecture will trace the evolution of bioethics and explore the challenges posed for those who wish to navigate some of the poorly-charted and uncharted waters. It will also explore the contribution that different academic disciplines have to offer a broader bioethics agenda—one that is as ready to tackle difficult questions of social justice and the environment as it is to discuss stem cells and genetics.