The History of Bioethics: Its Rise and Significance

Abstract

This article offers a historic analysis of mainstream bioethics. Its postwar roots as part of the legacy of the responsible science movement following the atomic detonation are considered as well as its deeper roots as part of America's recurring cycles of ambivalent response toward ‘progress.’ Historic examples are provided to consider how bioethical impulses were institutionalized and absorbed into sociocultural infrastructure, including the rise of ‘principlism’ as a way of managing concern over the effects of emerging biotechnologies perceived to be troubling. Critiques of or challenges to mainstream bioethics, e.g., feminist bioethics, critical bioethics, and conservative bioethics as ignited by the ‘culture wars’ are also considered.