Crosthwaite Jan
Bioethics. 1995 Oct;9(5):361-79. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8519.1995.tb00312.x.
Philosophers, particularly moral philosophers, are increasingly being involved in public decision-making in areas which are seen to raise ethical issues. For example, Dame Mary Warnock chaired the 'Committee of Inquiry into Human Fertilization and Embryology' in the UK in 1982-4; the Philosophy Department at Auckland was commissioned by the Auckland Regional Authority to report on the ethical aspects of fluoridating the public water supply in 1990; and many of us are serving on ethics committees of various sorts. Not only are philosophers actually being called on or consulted, but many of us would argue that a philosophical contribution in such areas is essential. The involvement of moral philosophers in public policy decisions raises a question of professional ethics, viz, what role should a philosopher's own moral perspective or judgements play in the advice s/he gives, or contribution s/he makes, to public decision-making on ethical issues. Like most problems in professional ethics, this prompts reflection on the nature of the profession, and in particular on the expertise we take moral philosophy to offer. It also prompts reflection on how processes of public decision making in ethically problematic areas should be understood. I explore these issues in this paper.
哲学家，尤其是道德哲学家，越来越多地参与到那些被认为会引发伦理问题的领域的公共决策中。例如，玛丽·沃诺克女爵士在1982年至1984年期间主持了英国的“人类受精与胚胎学调查委员会”；1990年，奥克兰地区管理局委托奥克兰大学哲学系就公共供水氟化处理的伦理问题撰写报告；我们中的许多人还在各类伦理委员会任职。不仅哲学家们实际上被邀请或咨询，而且我们中的许多人会认为在这些领域哲学贡献至关重要。道德哲学家参与公共政策决策引发了一个职业道德问题，即哲学家自身的道德观点或判断在其提供给关于伦理问题的公共决策的建议或做出的贡献中应扮演何种角色。像职业道德中的大多数问题一样，这促使人们思考该职业的性质，尤其是我们认为道德哲学所提供的专业知识。它还促使人们思考在存在伦理问题的领域中公共决策过程应如何理解。我将在本文中探讨这些问题。
