Van Rensselaer Potter

Van Rensselaer Potter II (August 27, 1911 - September 6, 2001) was an American biochemist. He was Professor of Oncology at the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for more than 50 years.

In 1970, Dr. Potter created the term bioethics to describe a new philosophy that sought to integrate biology, ecology, medicine, and human values. Bioethics is often linked to environmental ethics and stands in sharp contrast to biomedical ethics . Because of this confusion (and appropriation of the term in medicine), Potter chose to use the term Global Bioethics in 1988.

Publications

Popular

• Bioethics: bridge to the future (Prentice-Hall 1971)
• Global Bioethics: Building on the Leopold Legacy (Michigan State Univ Pr 1988) ISBN 0870132644

See also

• Aldo Leopold

External link

• In Memoriam: McArdle Laboratory
• Obituary: Cancer Research 63, 1724, April 1, 2003