Titel: Moral Expertise

Termin: 28.6.2010, 10:30 Uhr, bis 29.6.2010, 13:00 Uhr

Veranstaltungsort:
St David's Hotel
Cardiff, UK

Weitere Informationen:
http://shsahrcproject.swan.ac.uk/events.htm

Kurzbeschreibung: There are a variety of arguments against moral experts. The first is an epistemological argument; it concerns the dim prospects for moral knowledge. A second version stresses the potentially harmful, undemocratic effects of referring solutions in applied ethics to alleged experts. Thirdly, it seems that to 'outsource' ethical decisions or advice to a group of experts undermines the very point of morality. To follow the moral instructions of others, be they experts or not, seems nonsensical. However, one does not need to regard expertise in ethics as a privileged access to moral truth. Many ethicists have pointed out that moral expertise has more to do with certain skills in argumentation such as the ability to identify illogical inferences, inconsistencies or unsupported premises. Under this description moral expertise is more akin to reasoning skills that do not demand or presuppose a peculiar special moral sense or other moral abilities. Moral experts do not have to be, and often are not, moral exemplars. Still, the exact nature and role of moral experts needs to be scrutinized more thoroughly.

The workshop will broadly divide research questions into descriptive and normative ones. One set of questions focuses on what kind of moral expertise actually is required from, e.g., committee or policy task force members. Several of our speakers are experienced members of different committees. The normative set of questions addresses what kind of expertise such committees should have in order to function properly. Part and parcel of these research topics is the question as to whether philosophers would have any (special) role in providing expertise. This might lead to more abstract problems about, for instance, the nature of moral judgements, i.e. whether they are truth-apt etc.

This workshop should be of interest to a wide audience in diverse spheres, e.g. ethics committee members, politicians, health care professionals, social workers, lawyers, as well as professional ethicists. The workshop is open to all, for a small charge of £20.00. We are unable to cover the cost of travel or accommodation. If you wish to attend please complete the attached registration form. Places will be allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis. We will be unable to refund registration fees for cancellations within one week of the conference.

Kontakt: Oskar MacGregor
Department of Philosophy, History and Law
School of Human and Health Sciences
Vivian Tower (7th Floor)
Swansea University
Swansea, SA2 8PP, Wales
United Kingdom
oskar.macgregor@gmail.com
http://shsahrcproject.swan.ac.uk/

Schlagworte: Ethik-Kommissionen, Forschungsethikkommission, Gesundheitswesen