"Medicine is a funny business. Already vulnerable people make themselves even more vulnerable at the hands of another person who is often a complete stranger. They follow the stranger’s advice, which often involves doing things that make them feel worse and the point of which they often don’t understand. This advice comes with a hefty price tag. All of that is why medical ethics are so important. And given the changes in medicine over the past several decades, Hippocrates’ Oath is no longer enough to guide doctors through Hippocrates’ Maze. This collection of essays by prominent bioethicist James Lindemann Nelson seeks a new way to get through the maze. The articles suggest an alternative to applied ethics," which draws theories from moral philosophy into the world of the practitioner. Nelson feels this approach is insufficient for three reasons: good bioethics needs more and better theory, not a version of what other disciplines are developing; the clinic is a good place to do philosophy; and contemporary medicine contributes to how people view themselves. Instead, he suggests that biomedical ethics itself can help physicians negotiate Hippocrates’ Maze."
