History
In 19th century Wissenschaft des Judentums, scholars like Julius Preuss studied Talmudic approaches to medicine. Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits was a prominent figure in 20th century Jewish medical ethics and a pioneer in religious bioethics. His specialty was the interaction between medical ethics and halakha. Thanks to his academic training in Ireland, Rabbi Jakobovits approached his comprehensive volume, Jewish Medical Ethics, in light of Catholic medical ethics, with which he often compares Jewish ethics. Whether developing or disputing his analysis, subsequent Jewish bioethicists have utilized his work on abortion, euthanasia, the history of Jewish medical ethics, palliative care, treatment of the sick, and professional duties. Likewise, he is credited with popularizing the claim that Judaism supports the nearly absolute sanctity of life.
In its early years, Jewish medical ethics was predominantly an applied ethics. Orthodox pioneers included rabbis and scholars J. David Bleich, Fred Rosner, Abraham Steinberg, Saul J. Berman, Moshe David Tendler, as well as major rabbinic authorities, such as Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, Moshe Feinstein and Eliezer Waldenberg. reform movement's pioneers included Solomon Freehof, and later involvement by Walter Jacob and Moshe Zemer. Pioneering medical ethicists in the Conservative movement included rabbis Elliot Dorff, David Feldman, Aaron Mackler, Joel Roth, and Avram Reisner, while more recent figures have included Leonard Sharzer. Among those oriented to bioethics, leading thinkers include Daniel Sinclair and Noam Zohar. Dr. Mark J. Poznansky, a member of the Order of Canada, has been a leading voice on issues of human and animal experimentation.
Organizationally, Jewish medical ethics and bioethics has grown, especially in the United States and Israel. Journals dedicated to medical ethics and an encyclopedia have been published. In Israel, hospitals supports Jewish clinical ethicists and there is an institute. Jewish medical ethics and bioethics has been the topic of numerous scholarly conferences, educational workshops, and lectureships, including the "International Conference on Jewish Medical Ethics."
Read more about this topic: Jewish Medical Ethics
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“History takes time.... History makes memory.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“The history of reform is always identical; it is the comparison of the idea with the fact. Our modes of living are not agreeable to our imagination. We suspect they are unworthy. We arraign our daily employments.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“While the Republic has already acquired a history world-wide, America is still unsettled and unexplored. Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)