On Being Human: Where Medicine, Ethics and Spirituality Converge

On Being Human: Where Medicine, Ethics and Spirituality Converge

  • Author: Ikeda, Daisaku, René Simard et Guy Bourgeault
  • Publisher: Presses de l'Université de Montréal
  • ISBN: 9782760617988
  • eISBN Pdf: 9782760623774
  • eISBN Epub: 9782760629165
  • Place of publication:  Montréal , Canada
  • Year of publication: 2002
  • Pages: 262

At first glance, Western humanism, Japanese Buddhism and modern science have so little in common that the very idea of seeking common ground through dialogue seems overly idealistic. Only a man the calibre of daisaku ikeda could bring such a project to fruition. Firmly setting aside cliché and facile answers, he broaches the grand questions that face today's society: cancer, aids, death with dignity, in vitro fertilization, biomedical ethics… The responses offered by René Simard, molecular biologist and geneticist, and guy bourgeault, bioethicist, are insight-ful and compelling. Their discussions cut through linguistic and cultural barriers to present a vision of the potential -- an the inherent challenges -- of being human. Daisaku Ikeda is the President of the Soka Gakkai International, a worldwide organization based on the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin and widely known for its promotion of peace, culture and education. He has published dialogues with several notable figures, including Arnold Toynbee and René Huyghe. René Simard, is a well-known authority on cancer research. He was rector of the Université de Montréal from 1993 to 1998. Guy Bourgeault is a professor at the Université de Montréal, where he directs research on bioethics and education.

  • Table of Contents
  • Acknowledgements
  • Preface
  • Foreword
  • Introduction
  • CHAPTER ONE: CANCER AND AIDS
    • 1. Cancer Past and Present
    • 2. Prevention and Treatment
    • 3. Cancer and Disclosure: The Doctor-Patient Bond
    • 4. AIDS–Menace and Countermeasures
    • 5. AIDS and Human Rights
    • 6. Cloning and the Value of Life
  • CHAPTER TWO: HEALTH AND HARMONY
    • 1. The Nature of Health
    • 2. Health and Illness
    • 3. Harmony with the Environment
    • 4. Obsession with Perpetual Youth
    • 5. Overcoming Stress
    • 6. Coping with Mental Illness
    • 7. The Ideal Life
  • CHAPTER THREE: BIOETHICS
    • 1. Religion and Medical Ethics
    • 2. Definition of Death
    • 3. Brain Death
    • 4. Death with Dignity: Overcoming the Suffering of Death
    • 5. Confronting Death
    • 6. Birth
    • 7. Procreation Technology
  • CHAPTER FOUR: EVOLUTION OF LIFE AND BIRTH OF HUMANITY
    • 1. Origin of Life
    • 2. Theories of Biological Evolution
    • 3. Birth of Humankind
    • 4. Diverse Views
  • CHAPTER FIVE: DAWN OF THE CENTURY OF LIFE
    • 1. Pathology of our Time
    • 2. Goals of Education
    • 3. Mission of the University
    • 4. Ethical Aspects of Technoscientific Development
    • 5. Century of Life
  • Postscript

Subjects

    SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

    By subscribing, you accept our Privacy Policy