The meaning of bioethics: dillemas of instrumentalism and metaphysics in comprehending life

An attempt to clarify the concept of bioethics, to redefine its subject-matter and limits is undertaken in the article. The negative methodological trends of the last decades are revealed. A general approach to constitute the concept of bioethics, suggesting a successive differentiation between the notional levels of the discussed issues is offered. First of all, that is a distinction between an instrumental-applied content of problems and their philosophical meaning.