The utilization of information and communication technologies in almost all spheres of modern society has changed the social picture in significant ways while simultaneously leading to tensions with regard to traditional ethical and legal practices—particularly given the global context of its application. Where these technologies impact on the practice and implementation of healthcare, it is vital to recognize the extent and nature of the ethical and social impact both at the level of professional practice and the patient. Ethical, Legal and Social Issues in Medical Informatics presents a fundamental compendium of research on the ethical, social, and legal issues facing the healthcare industry as it adopts information technologies to provide fast, efficient, and cost effective healthcare. An essential resource for every reference library, this comprehensive book offers a multidisciplinary perspective, drawing from the expertise of a wide variety of global industries including law, ethics, medicine, philosophy, and computer science.

The discussion about justice has often been limited to a specific territory, i.e. a nation. However, globalisation has undermined the relevance of this presupposition. John Rawls-s theory of justice is a starting point for contemporary discussions about justice. But, contrary to Rawls-s view, principles of global justice should not only include principles of non-interference and respect for universal human rights but also a principle of democratic legitimacy of global governance and a principle of global distributive justice. The notion of global justice is not uncontroversial. It is argued that the meaning of justice differs between different communities and, thus, one can not hope for a universal approval of the concept of global justice, that a principle of global distributive justice does not take into account that global differences in wealth are caused by differences in the ambitions of individuals and nations and that the idea of global justice overlooks crucial institutional differences between a nation and the global situation. However, these arguments are not conclusive.

Technology and Ethics. A European Quest for Responsible Engineering, edited by B. Heriard Dubreuil and his team (University Lille) is in many regards an innovative publication. contribution to the field of engineering ethics and the result of an intensive cooperation between ethicists and engineers from all the member countries of the European Union. The basic structure of the book is both the distinction and interaction between three levels of analysis: personal responsibility of engineers, the institutional level (business organisations) and the impact of technology on society and culture.  personal level, the book deals with problems such as the role of professional codes and the fact that engineers must cope with flexibility, shorter lines of decision and erosion of the boundaries between private and professional life. of decision making in the context of business organizations, such as quality management, technology assessment procedures, business ethics committees etc... Together with the influences from other social, economic and political actors, the decisions of engineers change the world in a way which is of moral significance

Den här boken behandlas centrala etiska begrepp som människovärde, ansvar och rättvisa. Yrkesetiska frågor ägnas ett särskilt avsnitt.

Här presenteras också grunderna för etisk argumentation och hur etik förhåller sig till religion och människosyn. Författaren visar bland annat hur kristendomen och islam bidragit till etiken.

Vad utmärker en rätt handling? Normativa etiska teorier som utilitarism, kantianism och kontrakts- och rättighetsteorier ger olika svar, och de analyseras i boken.

Texten innehåller en rad exempel på moraliska problem som stimulerar läsaren till egna reflektioner.

Boken är främst avsedd för studenter vid universitet och högskolor inom ämnen där etiska frågeställningar ingår, men kan med behållning läsas av alla som är intresserade av etikens grunder

Boken ger en introduktion till etiskt tänkande. Här presenteras grunderna för etisk argumentation och förhållandet mellan etik och religion.

Vad utmärker en rätt handling? Normativa etiska teorier som utilitarism, pliktetik och kontrakts- och rättighets- teorier ger olika svar, och de analyseras i boken. Vidare behandlas etiken inom kristendom, islam och buddhism, liksom nyare riktningar som kommunitarism och feminism.

I boken diskuteras aktuella frågor inom tillämpad etik och yrkes- etik och texten innehåller en rad exempel på moraliska problem som stimulerar läsaren till egna reflektioner.

Boken är främst avsedd för studenter vid universitet och högskolor inom utbildningar där etiska frågeställningar ingår, men kan med behållning läsas av alla som är intresserade av etikens grunder.

The principle of human dignity has greatly influenced the Western moral tradition. It has, however, during the last few decades been questioned by a number of moral philosophers, many of them involved in applied ethics. The aim of this study is to examine different religious and philosophical views on whether humnan life is special and, if it is, in what respects. The book is divided into three main sections. The first section includes an examination of some important religious contributions from the past and the present. In the next section, the views of modern philosophers criticising the principle and of those defending it are examined. Finally, the meaning and relevance of the principle, when applied to certain moral problems in the modern world, are discussed. With reference to the discussion on priorities in health care it is argued that although the principle has a religious origin it may function as a universal moral principle in a modern pluralistic and secularised society. Contents: The Principle of Human Dignity--The Foundation: Early Christianity--Man, the Master of Created Beings: Thomas Aquinas on the Sancity of Human Beings--The Modern Catholic View--Protestant Tradition--Islam on the Sanctity of Human Life--Utilitarianism--Animal Ethics--The Principle of Human Dignity: Philosophical Defence--The Meaning and Relevance of a Principle of Human Dignity--Infanticide and the Principle of Human Dignity--Priorities in Health Care and the Principle of Human Dignity--This book discusses the theories of the following philosophers and theologians with regard to the Principle of Human Dignity

Applied ethics is a growing, interdisciplinary field dealing with ethical problems in different areas of society. It includes for instance social and political ethics, computer ethics, medical ethics, bioethics, envi-ronmental ethics, business ethics, and it also relates to different forms of professional ethics.

From the perspective of ethics, applied ethics is a specialisation in one area of ethics. From the perspective of social practice applying eth-ics is to focus on ethical aspects and implications of that particular practice.

The Erasmus Mundus Masters Course in Applied Ethics is supported by the European Union. The programme is a collaboration between three European universities; Linköping University, The Centre for Ap-plied Ethics, (Sweden), Utrecht University, the Ethics Institute, (The Netherlands), and the Norwegian University of Science and Technol-ogy, Department of Philosophy, Programme for Applied Ethics (Nor-way).

Each year, the programme starts with a common introduction for all students. During this introduction, the teachers present different per-spectives on applied ethics. In this volume the introductions are pub-lished. They give a broad view of different aspects on applied ethics.

Göran Collste

Programme coordinator

The six essays collected in this volume address from different disciplinary perspectives the implication of religious pluralism for school, work, politics, values and law.

Reevany Bustami analyses the new Malaysian Prime Minister’s view on national identity and religious pluralism. Ellisha Nasruddin examines pluralism as manifested in the form of ethnic integration within work organisations. Göran Collste discusses the possibilities of moral and political consensus in nations characterised by religious pluralism. Edgar Almén describes the modern Swedish history of handling pluralism within religious education. Annika Rabo discusses family law and religious pluralism in Syria and, finally, Hans Ingvar Roth focuses on factors contributing to social and political polarisation and on conditions for a fruitful inter- and intra religious dialogue.

International order is one of the most challenging issues in political ethics today, and its place within the multifaceted fleld of politics is frequently debated. The diverse phenomena resulting from 'globalisation' - particularly in the wake of the end of the so-called Cold War - urge us to think about our 'world' in terms of a single political entity. Besides the existing international institutions, however, it is still open to question what this entity should be and what concrete political practices should correspond to it. In the essays collected in this book, political scientists, sociologists, philosophers, theologians and policy advisors explore how political practices can be institutionally localised without necessarily becoming incorporated into structures of governance. Political ethics, as presented in this book, seeks to address the particular practices of power, justice, and peace of citizens themselves, and to assess their relevance for the shaping of international institutions

In Malaysia ethnic and religious pluralism goes hand in hand. Pluralism affects all sectors of society. Obviously it creates tensions but all the same Malaysia is remarkable as an example of how different ethnic and religious groups peacefully live side by side. In this book, Malaysian scholars write about how pluralism affects different areas of their society. They have different disciplinary backgrounds and they focus on a variety of aspects of religious pluralism: social relations, religious dialogue, legal pluralism, pluralism at the marketplace and how pluralism affects educational preferences. The authors point both at the possibilities and at the problems of religious pluralism in Malaysia.

Coping with modern technology (genetics, biotechnology etc.) has become a major issue of people living in the 21st century. This technology creates new chances and possibilities but also new dangers and ethical concerns. This book investigates ethical dilemmas connected to these new technologies in a field of prenatal and genetic research that seems particularly challenging: prenatal diagnostics. In the last decades enormous progress has been made in diagnosing genetically based diseases and other serious prenatal abnormalities. Despite intensive world-wide research, several problems have emerged and still wait to be answered. The most prominent aim of the book is to address major ethical dilemmas in the context of genetic and prenatal diagnosis, and by that means help to create greater awareness of and sensitivity to these dilemmas among various segments of the societies.