Science, Biological, Medical (genetics, illness/mental illness, death)

[1] One of the fields continuously raising ethical questions is the fast development within biotechnology. Constantly new possibilities arise and lead to ethical questions. For a Lutheran ethic the challenge is twofold – it is both a challenge to determine the key ethical questions in general and a question whether or not there is a […]

[1] Nanotechnology refers to a cluster of technologies directed to making, studying and manipulating structures at the nanometre scale. The prefix ‘nano’ comes from the Greek word nanos meaning dwarf, i.e. nano refers to something small. Nano designates 10-9 which means that one nanometre (nm) is one thousand millionth of a metre (Table 1). [2] […]

[1] The hopes for nanotechnology are evident in the amount of public funding devoted to it over the past few years.[1] Nanotechnology, indeed, has been proclaimed the source for a revolution comparable to the emergence of the steam engine, electrification, or computer technology.[2] The visions for nanotechnology include advancing broad societal goals such as better […]

[1] What is Nanotechnology? Most of us have some idea of what technology means, but it is the “nano” prefix that is puzzling. A nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter, so the scale that we are looking at is miniscule. When we think about what sizes we see under a microscope, we are usually thinking […]

“The science of alchemy I like very well, and indeed, ’tis the philosophy of the ancients. I like it not only for the profits it brings in melting metals, in decocting, preparing, extracting and distilling herbs, roots; I like it also for the sake of the allegory and secret signification, which is exceedingly fine, touching […]

[1] This year, my three-year-old granddaughter wanted a doll for Christmas – but a very special kind of doll. “I want a doll just like me,” she instructed the family. “Only better.” [2] My granddaughter was not envisioning a doll manufactured by cloning her genetic material, or generated by cultivating an embryonic stem cell line, […]

This is the second article in a two-part series by Aana Vigen on “Listening to Women of Color with Breast Cancer: Theological and Ethical Insights for U.S. Healthcare.” Click here for part 1 of this series. [1] These women who have survived or are living with breast cancer shared a great deal of embodied wisdom […]

This is part one in a two-part series on listening to women of color with breast cancer.1 Click here for part two of the series. [1] I am a Christian social ethicist who contends that adequate moral inquiry necessarily involves interdisciplinary reflection and conversation. In my view, the proper place of a professional ethicist is […]

The following article is revised and excerpted from a book co-authored with Robert L. Stivers, Christian Environmental Ethics: A Case Method Approach, Orbis Books, 2003. [1] The energy bill that President Bush signed into law this summer included several features designed to benefit the nuclear power industry. For example, the legislation authorized research, development, and […]

[1] The long tragic case of Terri Shiavo recently produced an outpouring of response throughout the United States. Her death was reported on April 1, 2005, nearly two weeks after life support was removed in accord with a court order. Terri Shiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when she collapsed at home after suffering […]