Ethics for life sciences engineers

How do we guide thinking about ethics in a context in which every situation is different?  In Bioethics, the most common answer to this is the use of ethical ‘principles’.  Since the 1970s the 4 key principles which are commonly referred to in Bioethics are Non-Maleficence (a duty not to harm patients or subjects through acts or omissions), Beneficence (a duty to be of benefit to people and society at large), Autonomy (a duty to respect the capacity of patents, subjects and users to make their own informed decisions), and Justice (a duty to ensure a fair distribution of risks and benefits across society).  Each ethical question involves (i) clarifying what these principles mean in that context (specification), (ii) balancing these principles to come to an ethical decision (judgement) and (iii) being able to describe or defend the judgement before impartial peers (justification). 

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