Towards a definition of bioethics as a discipline

By discussing emerging moral problems in the biomedical sciences, bioethics contributes to a re-examination of the practice of medicine itself. This essay introduces the theoretical foundations of bioethics, outlining its epistemological status, methods, and formal objectives. It stresses its interdisciplinary nature as its most innovative aspect, which helps the discipline avoid becoming imprisoned in a narrow disciplinary perspective and focus on concrete problems. In this sense, bioethics is no longer the prerogative of healthcare or the academic world. Bioethics involves the whole community since bioethical issues (e.g., the meaning of life and death, procreation, family, solidarity, and respect for the environment) are of such importance in this day and age, for any community, that they need to be tackled with continuity and competence. Bioethics needs to form part of specific training programs aimed at different generations, to make them aware of the transformations that are taking place, and to provide them with the evaluative tools that are needed when making choices.