Research

Modern societies are characterized by a dissent on moral and legal norms. With a focus on normative problems in the current life sciences the Centre for Advanced Study in Bioethics analyzes the problem, how to find and justify norms, that are capable of consensus.

Together with international experts, faculty members of the University of Münster from the fields of medical ethics, bioethics, philosophy, political sciences and law will bring together the current bioethical debates and examine the associated theoretical concepts, with regard to their plausibility and to their impact for justification of norms.

Due to the rapid progress of modern life sciences and of medical research the number and the weight of choicec we are facing have been growing continuously: More and more can be decided, and therefore more and more has to be decided. However, the traditional canon of moral norms and values often does not provide sufficient evaluation criteria for dealing reasonably with e.g. medical resources running short, research on human beings, human genetics and intensive care. The Centre for Advanced Study in Bioethics wants to contribute to the research on such evaluation criteria.

Main Research Areas

The Centre intends to analyze the basic questions for the justification of norms with regard to seven main research areas. These thematic segments are not to be seen als partial projects, but as dimensions of a single topic.

Publications

The research results of the Centre for Advanced Study in Bioethics are constantly published in books and journals. Here you find a selection of recent publications of the Centre.

Preprints and Working Papers

In the series "Preprints of the Centre for Advanced Study in Bioethics", we publish advance copies of texts by members and Fellows of the Centre. They are available for download here.

Asociated Projects

The Centre for Advanced Study in Bioethics is intended to act as a centre of gravity for its research topics within and beyond the University of Münster. Thus, several projects are associated with the Centre.

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Asociated Dissertations

In their professorial capacity, members of the Centre supervise thematically related dissertations at the University of Münster. The asociated doctoral candidates get the opportunity to profit from ongoing research in the Centre.