communication engulf our lives? Although an ethical analysis of technodecision
making has begun to emerge among specialized experts, it must be expanded to
include all citizens in a high-science, high-technology society. Experts alone,
whether scientists and engineers or philosophers, cannot solve our problems for
us. Efforts must be made to open and involve the emerging specialized fields of
techno-ethical analysis with a wider public. One reasonable way to begin is with
a review of some recent developments in biomedical, environmental, and computer
ethics- -relating them to real-world problems facing society. FROM MEDICAL TO
BIOMEDICAL ETHICS >From its earliest history, medicine was associated with
the acceptance of special moral obligations by those who attempted to assist
nature in promoting health and overcoming illness. Because physicians brought
specialized knowledge or expertise to bear on vulnerable patients, the
Hippocratic tradition of medical ethics emphasized their responsibilities not
just to avoid harm and to do good but also not to disclose confidences or to
take sexual advantage. At the same time there was always an implicit
responsibility on the part of