This collection of articles honors the work of Richard Zaner, a distinguished philosopher who has worked for over twenty years as an ethics consultant at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His work in the clinical setting, especially the use of narrative in understanding what is going on in this setting, is the focus of some of the papers. Others relate his methodology and phenomenological approach to the more standard bioethical problems and approaches. The essential questions: What is the role of the phenomenological philosopher turned medical ethicist? Is medical ethics a form of applied philosophy, or is it also a form of therapy? What kind of "ethics" emerges from a careful narrative rendering of clinical situations?

From the reviews:

"This is a compilation of essays outlining the major facets, insights, and controversies of the work to date of clinical ethicist and phenomenologist Richard M. Zaner. ? Those who are interested in narrative and its role in understanding, judgment, and healing in the clinical encounter will find this book interesting ? . This approach is fresh and filled with brilliant insights ? . it is a boon for Zanerians or those interested in phenomenology and narrative in bioethics." (Daniel Bustillos, Doody's Review Service, December, 2011)