In addition to writing op-eds, giving interviews, and publishing their work in leading journals, the Greenwall community has been taking libraries and bookstores by storm with long-form works that illustrate the broad spectrum of bioethics.
If spring cleaning opens up some space on your shelves, check out the reading list below for new additions to your library, courtesy of Greenwall Faculty Scholars, Alums, and Program Committee members.
In Scripting Death: Stories of Assisted Dying in America, Greenwall Faculty Scholar Alum Mara Buchbinder, PhD, pulls academic discussion about medical aid-in-dying into the real world, weaving together stories from patients, caregivers, health care providers, activists, and legislators to show how they navigate this new medical frontier in the aftermath of legalization. We talked to Prof. Buchbinder about the process of writing Scripting Death and the impact she hopes it has on our blog.
Good Ethics and Bad Choices: The Relevance of Behavioral Economics for Medical Ethics, has been described as “tak[ing] place at the intersection of the psychology of human decision-making and the ethics of relationships in health care.” In her book, Greenwall Faculty Scholar Alum, Jennifer Blumenthal-Barby, PhD, delivers a robust analysis of the ethical issues raised by “nudging” patient decision making, and concludes that a nudge can an improve patient decisions, prevent harm, and even enhance autonomy.
Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program Committee Member and Alum I. Glenn Cohen, JD has helped expand the conversation on a variety of issues, editing works on emerging technologies, health law, and more. For the Third Edition of Readings in Comparative Health Law and Bioethics, Prof. Cohen joins Nathan Cortez, JD, and Timothy S. Jost, JD, to edit texts that examine how different countries approach the same challenges in health care, law, and ethics.
Consumer Genetic Technologies: Ethical and Legal Considerations is a volume of collected works based on the Harvard Law School Petrie-Flom Center’s 2019 annual conference, edited by Prof. Cohen, Nita A. Farahany, JD, PhD, Henry T. Greely, JD, and Carmel Shachar, JD. The work considers the different models used to deliver consumer genetics and the ethical questions that arise when trying to strike a balance between consumer privacy protections and sparking innovation.
Prof. Cohen collaborated with Prof. Shachar, the late Anita Silvers, PhD, and Michael Ashley Stein, PhD to edit the first edition of Disability, Health, Law, and Bioethics. The text, based on the Petrie-Flom Center’s 2018 annual conference, includes broad scholarship exploring the impact that the philosophical framing of disability may have on legal and policy approaches to disability. The work also covers strategies for allocating and accessing health care, the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, health care rights, and other legal tools designed to address discrimination.
Coauthored by a physician and a philosopher – Greenwall Faculty Scholar Alum, Farr Curlin, MD and Christopher Tollefsen, PhD – The Way of Medicine offers an ethical framework to renew and guide practitioners in fulfilling their professional calling to heal. Dr. Curlin and Prof. Tollefsen map out an accessible account of the ancient ethical tradition from which they submit contemporary medicine and bioethics has departed and challenge the “reigning provider of services model.”
Exciting developments in neuroscience are spurring an era of innovation in national security, prompting ethical questions about how we can, and should, use these innovations ethically. In The Ethics of Neuroscience and National Security, Greenwall Faculty Scholar, Nicholas Evans, PhD, provides practical guidance for policymakers and regulators that might promote the benefits of emerging neuroscience while mitigating attendant risks.
Greenwall Faculty Scholars Program Committee Chair and Alum, Jason Karlawish, MD, untangles the web of events that turned Alzheimer’s disease (AD) into a crisis in The Problem of Alzheimer’s. When we spoke to Dr. Karlawish about the book for our blog, he explained that AD is “a crisis because of a host of social and cultural and political events – a humanitarian problem.” In this book, he illuminates a path forward to improve the well-being and dignity of people living with AD and their caregivers.
Faculty Scholars Program Committee member, Keith Wailoo, PhD, authored Pushing Cool: Big Tobacco, Racial Marketing, and the Untold Story of the Menthol Cigarette. Prof. Wailoo tells the intricate and poignant story of menthol cigarettes, spanning nearly a century. Delving deep into the heart of the tobacco industry, Prof. Wailoo exposes the hidden persuaders who worked together to establish racial markets and shape buying habits that target Black Americans. We spoke to Prof. Wailoo about the book on our blog, and he shared the impact he hopes Pushing Cool has ahead of the FDA’s decision on banning menthol cigarettes in a short video.
These recent works in print are just a sampling of the diverse scholarship and clarity Greenwall’s community brings to charged topics and complex questions. For the latest books, op-eds, published research, news, and interviews featuring Greenwall experts, follow us on Twitter and subscribe to our monthly newsletter.