Essays in Bioethics 1924-1948

FRITZ JAHR (1885 - 1953), a Protestant pastor and educator who lived and worked in Halle an der Saale, coined the term BIOETHICS (Bio-Ethik) in 1926 and defined the BIOETHICAL IMPERATIVE: "Respect every Living Being as an end in itself and treat it, if possible, as such!" In 1785, Immanuel Kant had restricted the Categorical Imperative to human persons only, based on the Sanctity of the Moral Law; the Bioethical Imperative is based on the Sanctity of Life. Jahr offers an integrating view of living natural and social environments. These 22 essays document early European roots of modern bioethics and provide guidance for developing global cultures in integrated bioethics. Irene M. Miller, a cellist and medical expert, has worked professionally in Africa, China and the USA. Hans-Martin Sass, a founding member of the Center for Medical Ethics in Bochum, Germany, is Senior Research Scholar Emeritus at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA.