An understanding of a subject's history and its current trajectory are critical elements in seeing how it might develop, and one's own possible roles within it. Professor Alastair Campbell's work has frequently included reflection on the subject he played such a significant role in founding and nurturing. From his early editorials in the Journal of Medical Ethics (JME), of which he was the founding editor (1975-1980) to his presidential address to the International Association of Bioethics (IAB) in 1998, and in many other forums since, Professor Campbell has considered the nature and purpose of bioethics, its globalisation, its relationship to reason, and its fundamental moral basis.

In this presentation, Professor Campbell will reflect on bioethics from his unique position within it, and with the benefit of over 40 years of experience of its development.

In addition to his roles with the JME and the IAB, Professor Alastair Campbell has played an important role in the establishment of centres of bioethics in three widely different places: in New Zealand he was the founding director of the University of Otago's Bioethics Centre; and has since had founding roles with centres in Bristol, UK, and most recently at the National University of Singapore.