a large proportion of the world's leaders in the field, of widely different specialisations 

 (about three quarters of them from North America). 



Eighteen short reviews cover three main areas: Animal testing and chemical prediction, 

 In vitro testing (also the subject of a separate conference to be published in the same 

 series in 1976), and Monitoring of the fetus and newborn. This material is interspersed 

 with interesting discussions and brief editorial comments, and the subject matter is 

 updated in places. The editors have provided a general summary and a set of recommen- 

 dations, both based on the consensus of the participants. 



The book is very well produced and illustrated. 



HISTORY, BIOGRAPHIES, etc. 



Monographs 



122. 



R. MOCEK. 1974. WILHELM ROUX - HANS DRIESCH. Zur Geschichte der Entwick- 



lungsphysiologie der Tiere ("Entwicklungsmechanik") 



Gustav Fischer, Jena. Biographien bedeutender Biologen, Band 1. 229 pp., author and 



subject indexes. M. 26.00 (paper) 



The author of this book is Professor of Philosophy at the Martin Luther University in 

 Halle, German Democratic Republic. His aim is to show the interactions between the 

 history of philosophy and the history of science by analysing the scientific contributions 

 of Roux and Driesch. He naturally does this within the framework of dialectic materia- 

 lism (the book abounds with citations of Friedrich Engels!). Nevertheless, his treatment 

 cannot be called dogmatic. Among other things, he shows that Roux and Driesch cannot 

 be treated as paradigms for mechanistic and vitaUstic reasoning, respectively, but that the 

 situation is much more complex. 



Because of its constant preoccupation with philosophical questions the book is 

 probably less interesting for bio-historians than for historians of philosophy. At the very 

 least, it provides insights into dialectic materialism from an unexpected angle. Interesting 

 for bio-historians are the appended bibliographies of Roux and Driesch and a catalogue of 

 Driesch's correspondence present in the University Library at Leipzig. 



MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS 



Monographs 



123. 



P. RAMSEY. 1975. THE ETHICS OF FETAL RESEARCH 



Yale Univ. Press, New Haven, etc. XXII, 104 pp. £ 4.00 (cloth), £ 1.50 (paper) 



Contents: 1. Background history and guidelines, 2. Types of fetal research, 3. Themes 

 in ethical analysis, 4. Research on the condemned, the dying, the unconscious, 5. Me- 

 dical ethics skewed by the abortion issue, 6. Fetal research in utero: the NIH provisio- 

 nal guidelines, 7. Live abortus research: the NIH provisional guidelines, 8. Controver- 

 sial cases, 9. The revised guidelines, 10. Who "consents" to fetal research? 



The author of this book is an American Professor of ReUgion and a well-known 

 authority on medical ethics. His aim is not to tell the reader what to think, but how to 

 think about research on human fetuses. He does this in a balanced manner, without 

 concealing his own opinions but also without drawing in theological arguments. More- 

 over, he is scientifically well informed. His book is well worth reading for anyone who is 

 or may become involved in these intricate problems and feels that the level of the current 

 debates should be raised. 



The table of contents speaks for itself, except that it may be pointed out that the 

 author not only analyses the recent American guidelines but also the British Peel report. 



216 



