No matter how much the fundamental questions of human co-existence, and with them increasingly questions of bioethics, have taken on global dimensions, the discussion of them - particularly in bioethics - does not take place in a context-free zone, but is firmly embedded in concrete life-worlds. In this, the contrast Normative Culture/Utilitarian Culture denotes a potentially conflictual fundamental polarity of modern life-worlds, which is presented phenomenologically in this volume for the first time, but is also seen in its normative aspect and from the viewpoint of the disciplines involved. The papers in this volume, taken from the fields of philosophy, theology, law, medicine and natural science, show the rich potential of this approach in both an empirical and a systematic respect. Acknowledged authorities give succinct answers to pressing questions which biotechnical advances must pose for the state, society and the individual.

Thomas S. Hoffmann, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn; Walter Schweidler, Ruhr-Universität Bochum.