In the first part of the course, the historical and theoretical reasons for the birth of bioethics will be presented, in the historical context of the biotechnological revolution and culture based on the principle of autonomy. In the second part we will analyze the traditional ethical perspectives (the ethics of virtues, the ethics of duty and the ethics of consequences) in which the theories of bioethics are rooted (principialism, utilitarian and liberal bioethics, the bioethics of virtues, feminist bioethics, gender and queer theories, the bioethics of responsibility, personalism in bioethics and global bioethics). It will be highlighted how, more and more, also in consideration of the changes linked to the pandemic, theoretical lines are outlined that highlight social responsibility.