In Search Of Ethics Expertise

The status of knowledge, skill and virtues in morality has been discussed since the days of Socrates. However, in the last few decades, ethicists have become involved in healthcare, business, industry, journalism as never before. This development has triggered a lot of debates: Is there a specific authority in morals upon specialists? Is ethics expertise possible? Whether ethics expert could be taken as a professional? if they do, whether they will be a threat to individual autonomy?This article aims at discussing these problem, and on the base of it, we mainly try to illustrate the "special" role of ethics expertise form the perspective of philosophy of law.In this paper, chapter one (Introduction) briefly introduce the object of the study, what the problems it faces, and the reason why we write this article.The chapter two begins with meaning of expert and expertise; then, when we try to explain ethics expertise from expertise, find out a lot of problems, all of these problems converge on is ethics expertise possible.The themes of the chapter three, the possibility of ethics expertise are mainly discussed. With this rudimentary understanding of expert and expertise, we discuss the possibility of ethics expertise by applying this analysis to the four subdomains of ethics. First, we are certain to two kinds of uncontroversial ethics expertise: expertise in descriptive ethics and expertise in metaethics. Then, the possibility of expertise in normative ethics is discussed, we indicate that it is maintained that the difference between ethics and science, and using the objectivity to deny the point view of the possibility of ethics expertise loses its power. On its basis, we carefully show two arguments against expertise in normative ethics, and give several rebuttals to them. Next, we illustrate how expertise in normative ethics could be possible. But, we consider it as a limited expertise at the same time. Finally, we discuss the possibility of performative expertise in ethics. What ethics expertise entails is clarified in chapter four. First, on the base of the argument of possibility, we describe how ethicists could be taken as ethics experts. Second, after making a further understanding of ethics expertise, we discuss the possibility of ethics expert cloud be taken as a professional.In chapter five, the relationship between ethics expertise and individual autonomy under modern democratic society is discussed. First, we briefly illustrate the nature of ethics expertise and autonomy. We find what the role ethics expertise plays have an obvious impact on the relationship between ethics expertise and individual autonomy. So we divide roles into two kinds: ethics expertise as "consultation" and ethics expertise as "decision". Then, we explain that ethics expertise as "consultation" is always compatible with individual autonomy, but ethics expertise as "decision" inevitably conflicts with individual autonomy.We mainly try to illustrate the "special" role of ethics expertise form the perspective of philosophy of law in chapter six. First, we attribute ethics expertise to the philosophy of law, and then we treat the "special" role of ethics expertise from the perspective of Hart's law philosophy.In conclusion, we briefly review the article and speak of some suggestions for future research on ethics expertise.