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Workshop: Bioethical Expertise, 6-7th June 2013

This workshop has been organized to rethink the concept of bioethical expertise. Whilst this topic has been addressed by a number of researchers such work has often been narrowly focused on the expertise embedded within applied ethical analysis, whilst other forms of bioethical scholarship have been relatively neglected. Furthermore this focus has tended to result in conceptions of ‘ethical expertise’ as a form of ‘technical rationality.’ In contrast research from a more phenomenological perspective suggests ‘expertise’ is a matter of tacit knowledge and embodied skill. This workshop aims to draw this broader conception of expertise into the bioethical domain. In particular we will be discussing the concepts of ubiquitous, contributory and interactional expertise, these latter two concepts being coined by Collins and Evans in their Rethinking Expertise (2007). 

Dr Robert Evans (Cardiff) will open the workshop with a talk on theories of expertise, the concepts of contributory and interactional expertise and their potential relevance for (bio)ethics. 

The workshop will include a lecture in QUB’s Royal Institute of Philosophy public lecture series. This will be given by Prof Bobbie Farsides (Brighton and Sussex Medical School). Prof Farsides has recently been appointed to the newly formed Emerging Science and Bioethics Advisory Committee (ESBAC). 

The Call for Papers/ Participants is available here.

Places on the workshop are strictly limited. If you wish to attend the workshop and/ or present a paper the form to complete is available here.

The deadline for applications is 5th April 2013

Funding for 2 PhD students to attend the workshop will be available. Please contact Nathan Emmerich for details.

There are no registration costs for presenters or workshop participants. Whilst refreshments will be provided we are, unfortunately, unable to provide any further support for attendees.

Further details and enquires should be addressed to the organizer of the workshop, Nathan Emmerich. Please email: n.emmerich@qub.ac.uk