Bioethics, medicine, and the moral ground

"Bioethics" and "biomedical ethics" are new expressions, conveying new ideas and new concerns. They entered the language in the 1960s. "Ethics," of course, is an ancient word meaning the study of applied moral philosophy. Bioethics is an interdisciplinary field of study that considers ethical issues in wellness and illness. Some would strongly argue that it even embraces our entire natural ecology. It certainly concerns the profession of medicine. Bioethics, like ethics itself, seeks to know and understand "goodness."