Who invented bioethics? The textbooks say that there are two contenders, both Americans: Van Rensselaer Potter, an oncologist, and Sargent Shriver, a benefactor of the Kennedy Institute. They independently coined the term in 1970. However, it appears that they were trumped by a German pastor and philosopher, Fritz Jahr, by decades. In 1927 Jahr published an article entitled “Bio-Ethics: A Review of the Ethical Relationships of Humans to Animals and Plants” in the German magazine Kosmos. He wanted to extend Kant’s categorical imperative to all forms of life, not just humans. He wrote: “So that the rule for our actions may be the bio-ethical demand: Respect every living being on principle as a goal in itself and treat it, if possible, as such!”

A group of European academics recently launched a revival of Jahr’s reputation and his insights. In March there was a conference in Rijeka (Croatia). The outcome of this was the Rijeka Declaration on the Future of Bioethics, an international network of scholars and an annual FritzJahr Award for the Research and Promotion of European Roots of Bioethics.