Moral Theories

Moral theories are among the tools that the philosophical tradition has developed to help clearthinking about moral issues. In the bioethical debate, a number of moral theories have confrontedthemselves with each other and with the prominent problems raised by the advancement of thebiomedical sciences. A particular theory, called “principlism,” has been proposed as specificallytailored for biomedical ethics, but the main ethical theories in the debate are recent versions of longtraditions of thought, such as utilitarianism, Kantian ethics, virtue ethics, natural law theory, andrights theory. Other theories enter the picture, although they are less influent in the debate. Moraltheory has received strong impulse from bioethics, and it has sustained a rich and fruitfulconfrontation of reasons among scholars and in the public arena. New challenges create the premisesfor new developments