Van Rensselaer Potter created and defined the term bioethics in 1970, 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.



Potter's definition of bioethics from Global Bioethics is, Biology combined with diverse humanistic knowledge forging a science that sets a system of medical and environmental priorities for acceptable survival.