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The term ethics denotes standards of conduct based on ethos, i.e. customs and practice of a community. In everyday language, ethics and morality may be used interchangeably although they don’t mean exactly the same. While, generally speaking, morality defines values and rules, ethics as a philosophical discipline analyses, based on rationality, the reasons for moral values and rules, frames underlying principles and develops theories.

Modern medicine, characterized by fast technological progress creating manifold possibilities, requires fundamental reflexion. This is not only a matter of understanding and evaluating risks and chances but also of elucidating essential questions regarding health, illness, body image, normality, human dignity, human rights and so forth. While medical ethics is focussing on the doctor’s actions, bioethics was developed during past decades as a broader discipline dealing with those essential questions but also trying to consider global aspects as well as responsibility towards future generations. This requires a critical, interdisciplinary analysis of backgrounds and contexts in order to raise sensibility for the complexity of bioethical issues.

Bioethics, medical ethics, research ethics and other subfields are grouped together under the umbrella term applied or practical ethics.