Shelley's promethean hero, Victor Frankenstein, perseveres in an arrogant quest to plumb the mystery of life. He succeeds in creating a man, but his triumph leads only to misery and death. This tension between scientific aspiration and moral restrain, which Shelley described so memorably, is with us still. It has also confronted us with profound ethical dilemmas. The questions multiply.
Answers come less easily.
Medicine now offers us choices which transcend the purely scientific. These choices compel us to question the nature of humanity and of human dignity. This symposium explores the loosely charted frontier shared by medicine, science and morality. It will do so by examining a series of case studies, both historical and contemporary. The approach will be interdisciplinary, drawing upon medicine, science, the humanities and the social sciences.