The Elimination of Morality combines a criticism of utilitarianism with an argument for the futility of bioethics. Anne Maclean challenges the conception of reason in ethics central to both, and argues that a philosophical training confers no special authority to make pronouncements on moral issues. She proposes that pure utilitarianism eliminates the essential ingredients of moral thinking.
Anne Maclean's part in publicising the controversy over academic standards in a Philosophy and Health Care MA led to her suspension in 1990 from the University of Swansea.