Health and Human Flourishing is a collection of papers written by various bioethicists in an attempt to see bioethics as serving an obligation to the “anamnesis of meaning” (2) in a time of many new medical technologies and breakthroughs in the natural sciences. This is done by focusing on anthropological themes such as the moral and theological anthropologies. The book is divided into five sections. (1) Questioning the Boundaries; (2) Dignity and Integrity; (3) Vulnerability; (4) Relationality; and (5) Theological Anthropology and Praxis. The book’s main concern is the implementation of the theological anthropology in bioethics and how such anthropology is continually effective even in progressive times of new scientific technologies and social norms. The major dilemma as a reader however, was sorting through the papers of the individual authors to determine how the theological anthropology is continually resilient and resistant to progress in scientific knowledge and technology.

It seemed difficult, at times, to determine the true meaning and purpose of the theological anthropology in bioethics; In many of the chapters, I began to lose touch with the main idea the book attempted to illustrate since many of the papers only spoke briefly of the theological anthropology and its connection with vulnerability, dignity, integrity, and relationality. My understanding of the theological anthropology as described by co-author Roberto Dell’Oro, is such an anthropology brings faith into bioethical decisions and as a result, produces “a particular anthropological understanding” (25). This is a common theme of Catholic social teaching where faith gives Catholics an advantage in both everyday and complex decision making process. Only after reading the entire book did I understand the significance of the book’s organization in support of portraying both the importance and influence of the theological anthropology in bioethics. 

There seemed to be a progression away from the nature of the theological anthropology in the beginning of the book and then a rekindling of the meaning at the end. The papers in between however, gave important insight into real life bioethical issues in which important ethical decisions can be made through implementing the theological anthropology. In doing so, the authors were able to give an introduction into the anthropology followed by its relevance in issues such as vulnerability in medicine and the global AIDS pandemic and finally a sublimation of the anthropology in the context of the definition of the human person. The latter, in my opinion, was essential to summarize the context of the work considering a definition of bioethics as a whole can only be complete with a specific understanding of “what is man.”

In the final chapter, Edmond Pellegrino aims to give insight into the connections between the philosophical and theological anthropologies and their importance in molding the future of bioethics. Pellegrino’s paper gives an analysis of the different theories of man and how they must all work side by side to bring about a truer understanding of what it means to be man. The result will be a “richer bioethics” and a move towards further human flourishing. Pellegrino’s closing paragraph gives the reader a better understanding of where bioethics is now and the direction it must progress.