Moral Experts vs. Ethical Theories

The lively topic of whether moral expertise and moral experts exist has been vividly discussed in recent contributions in ethics and, particularly, in bioethics. I hold the view that moral expertise exists and that some moral philosophers can be considered as moral experts in the full sense, who have moral expertise, while most cannot. In this talk, however, I focus on the question of whether moral experts–by adhering to their particular expertise–are better qualified to solve complex moral questions than (moral) philosophers who (only) use a particular moral theory. This is an important issue because my analysis will respond to the vital question of whether one is, in general, able to solve complex moral issues by adhering to only one moral theory given the background of the complexity of moral life.

John-Stewart Gordon
Professor & Head of the Research Cluster for Applied Ethics
Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas

Wed, Feb 28, 2018
12:30 PM - 02:00 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
Rm 200, Larkin Building