Medical Ethics in the Ancient World

In this book, Paul Carrick presents the ancient Greek and Roman foundations of Western medical ethics. Analysing 1,500 years of pre-Christian moral history of medicine, Carrick applies insights from ancient medical ethics to developments in modern medicine such as advance directives, gene therapy, physician-assisted suicide, abortion and surrogacy. He addresses such timeless issues as the social status of the physician, attitudes to dying and death, and the relationship of medicine to philosophy, religion and universal mortality. He also explores the puzzling question of the identity of Hippocrates, analysing not only the Hippocratic Oath but also the lesser-known works of the Father of Medicine.