title: Observations on the epistemological status of bioethics.
abstract: Different definitions of bioethics in American and Italian literature are reported. It is argued that they refer to three different conceptions of the epistemological status of bioethics: the first conceives of it as an application of moral principles to biomedical problems, the second as a methodology for the working out of clinical judgement, the third as a broader and interdisciplinary public inquiry. It is suggested that each approach grasps a part of the truth, for each singles out one level of the bioethical work. Bioethics is in fact a complex, three-level form of knowledge. The misunderstanding of this complexity has led to some confusion and to conflicts of attribution among those who are concerned with it.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Humanities, Scientific Institute H San Raffaele, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reichlin
mesh_terms: D026686:Beneficence; D026688:Bioethical Issues; D001675:Bioethics; D032764:Casuistry; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D028663:Ethical Theory; D026822:Ethicists; D026690:Ethics, Clinical; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D007558:Italy; D009014:Morals; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010684:Philosophy; D028662:Principle-Based Ethics; D012945:Social Values; D028725:Theology; D014481:United States; D028722:Virtues