Respect for life in medicine, philosophy, and the law

OWSEI TEMKIN, WILLIAM K. FRANKENA and SANDFORD H. KADISH, Respectfor life in medicine, philosophy, and the law, Baltimore, Md., and London, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977, 8vo, pp. ix, 107, £5.95. There are three essays in this book, based on lectures originally delivered at The Johns Hopkins University in the spring of 1975: 'The idea of respect for life in the history of medicine' (Temkin); 'The ethics of respect for life' (Frankena); and 'Respect for life and regard for rights in the criminal law' (Kadish). Each approaches the central topic from an entirely different point of view. Professor Temkin's essay is concerned with ways in which the duty to respect life was understood in early Western medicine, and, as one would expect, it is a thoughtful, scholarly, and well-documented piece. It is complemented by the other two articles, by a philosopher and lawyer respectively. The current interest in medical ethics will ensure this excellent book a wide appeal.