Moral Experts, Deference & Disagreement
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2018
Abstract
We sometimes seek expert guidance when we don’t know what to think or do about a problem. In challenging cases concerning medical ethics, we may seek a clinical ethics consultation for guidance. The assumption is that the bioethicist, as an expert on ethical issues, has knowledge and skills that can help us better think about the problem and improve our understanding of what to do regarding the issue. The widespread practice of ethics consultations raises these questions and more: What would it take to be a moral expert?Is anyone a moral expert, and if so, how could a non-expert identify one?Is it in any way problematic to accept and follow the advice of a moral expert as opposed to coming to moral conclusions on your own?What should we think and do when moral experts disagree about a practical ethical issue? In what follows, we address these theoretical and practical questions about moral expertise.
Publication Title
Philosophy and Medicine
Volume
129
First Page
87
Last Page
105
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1007/978-3-319-92759-6_5
ISSN
03767418
E-ISSN
22150080
Citation Information
Matheson, McElreath, S., & Nobis, N. (2018). Moral Experts, Deference & Disagreement. In Moral Expertise (pp. 87–105). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92759-6_5