(Bio)ethicists and (Bio)ethical Expertise in National Ethical Advisory Bodies: Roles, Functions and Perceptions

Over the past decades, (bio)ethical expertise has been gaining considerable influence in decision-making processes on various levels, but the nature and role of bioethical expertise and experts has only rarely been subject to empirical investigation in institutional contexts. One of the characteristics of modern (bio)ethics is its “empirical” and “policy” turn, which has led to the formation of institutions that were given the remit to provide political decision-makers with ethical advice on dealing with contentious developments in new and emerging sciences and technologies. In Europe, such national Ethical Advisory Bodies (EABs) have become a key mechanism in the legitimization of contested sociopolitical decisions. (Bio)ethicists can be seen as important experts in the workings of such institutions, but the role and function of (bio)ethical expertise and (bio)ethicists have so far not been systematically investigated in European national EABs. The present article thus tackles some of the theoretical and practical questions concerning ethicists and ethics in the context of EABs by combining theoretical reflection with empirical investigation. The first part provides a brief sketch of the development of modern (bio)ethics and its institutionalization in various expert bodies, especially EABs at the national level in Europe. The second part explores theoretical questions relating to the notion of ethical and moral expertise, as well as the attributes that ethicists should possess in order to be able to perform the role of experts in ethics within EABs. The third part compares theory to practice by examining the results of a survey conducted among European national EABs on how ethicists and ethical expertise are actually perceived by EABs and what functions they perform in such institutions