Site • RSS • Apple PodcastsDescription (podcaster-provided):
Bioethics is the study of the moral implications of new and emerging medical technologies and looks to answer questions such as selling organs, euthanasia and whether should we clone people. The series consists of a series of interviews by leading bioethics academics and is aimed at individuals looking to explore often difficult and confusing questions surrounding medical ethics. The series lays out the issue in a clear and precise way and looks to show all sides of the debate.Themes and summary (AI-generated based on podcaster-provided show and episode descriptions):
➤ Bioethics debates on neuroscience and morality • Brain chemistry, responsibility, and free will • Organ markets and altruism • Healthcare resource allocation • Trust, consent, and medical authority • Genetics, enhancement, designer babies • Moral status, abortion, end-of-life decisionsThis podcast explores contemporary bioethics through interviews with academic philosophers and ethicists, focusing on how new and emerging medical technologies challenge ideas about morality, responsibility, and public policy. Across the episodes, discussions examine whether scientific findings—especially from neuroscience and psychiatry—can inform moral reasoning, including how brain chemistry and mental disorders might influence decision-making and how that should affect judgments of blame and accountability.
A recurring theme is how societies should set rules for medicine when resources are limited and the stakes are high. The podcast considers dilemmas in allocating health care fairly, balancing individual choice against collective need, and deciding what counts as an acceptable motive or method in medical practice. It also addresses the ethics of organ transplantation and whether bans on organ markets are justified, as well as broader questions about trust in clinicians, informed consent, and who should govern the use of powerful biomedical techniques.
Several episodes center on the moral and legal boundaries around life and death decisions, such as suicide assistance, withdrawing life support, and the distinction between killing and letting die. Underpinning these issues is a deeper inquiry into “moral status”—what kinds of beings are owed moral consideration—which connects to debates over embryos, abortion, and end-of-life care.
The podcast also engages with genetic engineering and human enhancement, including the ethics of altering intelligence or selecting traits in future children, and the psychological factors (like status quo bias) that shape public reactions to these possibilities.
| Episodes: |
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Neuroscience Can Tell Us About Morality 2012-Feb-03 19 minutes |
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Brain Chemistry and Moral Decision-Making 2012-Jan-04 16 minutes |
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Responsibility 2011-Dec-01 16 minutes |
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Selling Organs 2011-Nov-01 18 minutes |
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Bio-Ethics Bites 2011-Oct-03 20 minutes |
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Trust 2011-Sep-01 18 minutes |
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Status Quo Bias 2011-Aug-01 19 minutes |
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Life and Death 2011-Jul-04 16 minutes |
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Moral Status 2011-May-31 18 minutes |
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Designer Babies 2011-May-31 21 minutes |