The Ethics of Pandemics

With the use of case studies and a clear philosophical approach, The Ethics of Pandemics is a much-needed introduction to some of the most important moral issues surrounding pandemics. It is essential reading for students working in ethics, applied ethics, medical ethics, and bioethics.

Iwao Hirose is Professor of Philosophy and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Value Theory and the Philosophy of Public Policy at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. In 2006, he served on the WHO working group on ethical guidelines for pandemic influenza preparedness in Geneva. He is the author of Egalitarianism (Routledge 2015; second edition forthcoming), and with Greg Bognar co-author of The Ethics of Health Care Rationing: An Introduction (Routledge 2014; second edition 2022).

1. Introduction: Why Ethics of Pandemics? 2. The general principle of pandemic response 3. Rationing of scarce health care resources 4. Pandemics in an unequal world 5. Restricting freedom 6. Inducing voluntary behavioral change 7. Moral mathematics under uncertainty. Glossary Bibliography Index