1 A Philosophical Methodology for Sociology in and of Bioethics

Since its early days bioethics has included works of social science. Historically these have been a small part of the discipline although more recently a focus on social scientific 1 methods and research in bioethics has become visible. 2 This has lead some bioethicists to discuss the contributions social science can make to bioethics, 3 to develop theoretical perspectives 4 and to calls for bioethical research programs and expertise to explicitly include knowledge of the empirical disciplines. 5 Whether or not these research programs can, ought or should be multi- or interdisciplinary has been debated, although certainly not settled. 6 In any event, empirical methods in bioethics are clearly here to stay