As part of its celebration of 20 years of bioethics education, The Bioethics Program of Clarkson University’s Lewis School of Health Sciences and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will continue its lecture series titled “Pioneering Bioethics: An Anniversary Celebration” on Dec. 12.
The Bioethics Program’s fourth lecture in the series is a reflection on the legacy of National Socialist (i.e., Nazi) medicine and its connection to bioethics, and it is titled “A Conversation on Nazi Medical Ethics between Art Caplan and Bob Baker on the 75th Anniversary of the Nuremberg Doctors’ Trial.”
On December 9, 1946, 23 Nazi healthcare professionals were placed on trial at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg Germany in the case of US vs Karl Brandt. At the trial Dr. Brandt claimed the moral high ground asserting that the physicians in National Socialist Germany had a conception of social medicine and medical ethics superior to the individualistic medicine of the bourgeoisie West. In this conversation, William D. Williams Professor of Philosophy at Union College and Director Emeritus of the Bioethics Program Bob Baker and Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor of Bioethics at New York University Art Caplan explore Brandt’s claim, Nazi medical ethics, and Nazi medical practices, and their relevance to the past, present, and post-COVID future of medicine and biomedical ethics.
The Bioethics Program’s virtual lecture series celebrates the program’s history and future. The monthly, free public panel discussions will run through February. The last panel focused on the challenges of bringing clinical ethics education online.
For more information on this webinar and the rest of the upcoming webinar series, or to register for the event, visit clarkson.edu/bioethics-program-20th-anniversary.
