Applying Multicultural Ethics to Epidemics and Pandemics provides readers with an exploration of the multifaceted nature of epidemics and pandemics, examining their historical impact on human societies and the ethical considerations they raise. Readers are challenged to better understand and confront the myriad issues related to public health crises and ethical practices through the lens of multiculturalism. Part I introduces the basics of epidemics and pandemics with emphasis on the diseases that are commonly associated with them. Part II shifts the focus to ethical perspectives, presenting Western, Eastern, Middle Eastern, and other cultural ethical theories. Parts III and IV are dedicated to specific historical and contemporary case studies of epidemics and pandemics, including the Black Death, early American epidemics, Ebola, Yellow Fever, tuberculosis, the 1918 Spanish Influenza, and COVID-19. Each case study is analyzed through the lens of the ethical theories discussed earlier in the text. The final part looks to the future, considering the implications of ethical theories in the context of pandemics and epidemics. Each chapter concludes with questions for discussion and reflection, encouraging readers to engage critically with the material. Designed to provide readers with comprehensive understanding of the ethical dimensions of pandemics and epidemics within a multicultural context, the book is an ideal resource for courses with focus on public health and medical ethics, as well as interdisciplinary programs that combine health sciences and humanities.

In recent public workshops and working group meetings, the Forum on Microbial Threats of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has examined a variety of infectious disease outbreaks with pandemic potential, including those caused by influenza (IOM, 2005) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) (IOM, 2004). Particular attention has been paid to the potential pandemic threat posed by the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which is now endemic in many Southeast Asian bird populations. Since 2003, the H5N1 subtype of avian influenza has caused 185 confirmed human deaths in 11 countries, including some cases of viral transmission from human to human (WHO, 2007). But as worrisome as these developments are, at least they are caused by known pathogens. The next pandemic could well be caused by the emergence of a microbe that is still unknown, much as happened in the 1980s with the emergence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and in 2003 with the appearance of the SARS coronavirus. Previous Forum meetings on pandemic disease have discussed the scientific and logistical challenges associated with pandemic disease recognition, identification, and response. Participants in these earlier meetings also recognized the difficulty of implementing disease control strategies effectively. Ethical and Legal Considerations in Mitigating Pandemic Disease: Workshop Summary as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop.

This edited book analyses how artists, authors, and cultural practitioners have responded to and represented episodes of epidemics/pandemics through history. Covering a broad range of notable epidemics/pandemics (black death, cholera, Influenza, AIDS, Ebola, COVID-19), the chapters examine the cultural representations of epidemics and pandemics in different contexts, periods, languages, media, and genres. Interdisciplinary in nature and drawing on perspectives from medicine, literature, medical anthropology, philosophy of medicine, and cultural theory, the book investigates and emphasizes the urgent need to reflect on past catastrophes caused by such outbreaks. By delving into cultural history, it re-examines how societies and communities have responded in the past to species-threatening epidemics/pandemics. Sure to be of interest to lay readers as well as students and researchers, this work situates epidemics and pandemics outbreaks within the contexts of culture and narrative, and their complex and layered representation, commenting on intersections of contagion, culture, and community. It offers a cross-cultural, global, and comparative analysis of the trajectories, histories and responses to various epidemics/pandemics that impacted people worldwide.

This book is for readers who wish to understand the ethical implications of the COVID-19 pandemic - holistically - on communities, politics, the economy, the environment, international relations, public health, and, most importantly, on their own lives and their own futures. It also helps readers to think through the wide-ranging ethical implications of the new age of global pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed all of our lives to such an extent that no single publication will ever be able to capture its complexity. The book acknowledges this complexity by embracing interdisciplinary dialogue. It is open to diverse points of view, different ethical systems, and a wide variety of academic disciplines. It suggests three broad avenues to exploring the subject: Ethics for Pandemics: What ethical theories are useful for pandemic living? Ethics in Pandemics: How are long-standing ethical dilemmas revealed in pandemics? Ethics of Pandemics: How should politicians and public health professionals create ethical systems of pandemic management? Interdisciplinary perspectives are another key feature of the book and reflect the important insights that many academic disciplines - medical ethics and public health, history, political science, economics, behavioral and evolutionary psychology, and climate science - bring to bear on the subject. In the chapters, the author joins theory and practice, providing an overview of the major ethical theories: Kant and Deontology Utilitarianism and Consequentialist Ethics Social Contract Theory Egoism and Altruism Virtue Ethics It then uses these theories to analyze both COVID-19 and also historical pandemics, including typhus, smallpox, the Black Death, HIV/AIDS, and polio. Ethics and Pandemics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on COVID-19 and Future Pandemics prepares readers to better understand ethical living during times of crisis. While written for students pursuing any discipline, it is particularly suited for those seeking degrees in public health, health care, political science, and philosophy. Furthermore, non-specialized readers and members of the general public will find the book of interest.

This best-selling text continues to fill an existing gap in the literature taught in applied ethics courses. As a growing number of courses that include the perspectives of diverse cultures are being added to the university curriculum, texts are needed that represent more multicultural and diverse histories and backgrounds. This new edition enhances gender coverage, as nearly half of the pieces are now authored by women. The new edition also increases the percentage of pieces written by those who come from a non-Western background. It offers twelve up-to-date articles (not found in previous editions) on human rights, environmental ethics, poverty, war and violence, gender, race, euthanasia, and abortion; all of these topics are addressed from Western and non-Western perspectives.

Multicultural Implications of Neuroethics: Issues in the Application of Neuroscience underscores the need for theory, research, and cultural perspective within neuroethics to thoughtfully address the ethical issues that arise from the application of neuroscience on an international scale. The text introduces readers to essential concepts in neuroethics, including cultural neuroethics, the foundation of neuroscience, and methodological issues. Dedicated chapters explore the key principles of neuroethics and various theoretical perspectives, including Western, Eastern, and Middle Eastern views. Readers will examine neuroethics and cultural issues, including discussions of brain enhancement and personnel selection using neuroscience, application of neuroscience in education, brain and neurofeedback methods, treatment of psychiatric and mental health conditions using neuroscience, and the application of neuroscience in law. Closing chapters address topical issues including the future of neuroethics with discussions on the use of nanotechnology, cultural considerations of neuroethical applications, informed consent, and how best to advance neuroscience. Featuring cutting-edge, essential research, Multicultural Implications of Neuroethics is an exemplary text for students and professionals in psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, neurology, counselor education, educational neuroscience, as well as any social science that integrates research and practices inspired by neuroscience.