Progress in Science and the Danger of Hubris : Genetics, Transplantation and the Stem Cell Research

In September 2004 the First International Conference on Medical Ethics took place in Nicosia (Cyprus), organised by the University of Cyprus (Department of Classics and Philosophy / Department of Biological Sciences) and the University of Munster (Institute for Interdisciplinary Cypriot Studies).

Scholars from Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece and Germany participated in this conference which had the general topic, ""Progress in Science and the Danger of Hubris: Genetics, Transplantation, Stem Cell Research"".

Their papers are collected in this book and offer a close look on the pros and cons of in-vitro fertilisation, prenatal diagnosis and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, on ethical issues in genetic testing, reproductive selection and biomedical research generally, and, of course, on the ethical problems with regard to stem cell research (especially the research on embryonic stem cells) and stem cell transplantation.

The reader will find most different perspectives and philosophical approaches to a multitude of bioethical concerns.

Contributors: Christos S. Bartsocas, Constantinos Deltas, Dietrich von Engelhardt, Eleni M. Kalokairinou, Bettina Schone-Seifert, Ludwig Siep, Nelly Tsouyopoulos, Renata Veselska, Takis Vidalis, Claudia Wiesemann, Urban Wiesing