CFP: Volume on Moral Expertise

An opportunity to expand horizons — introduce this audience to the junzi?

Call for Abstracts

for an edited collection under contract with Springer:

Moral Expertise: New Essays from Theoretical and Clinical Perspectives

Editors: Jamie Carlin Watson, PhD and Laura Guidry-Grimes, PhD(c)

Deadline for Abstracts: October 31st, 2016

This collection addresses whether ethicists, like authorities in other fields, can speak as experts in their subject matter. Though ethics consultation is a growing practice in medical contexts, there remain difficult questions about the role of ethicists in professional decision-making. Contributors will examine the nature and plausibility of moral expertise, the relationship between character and expertise, the nature and limits of moral authority, how one might become a moral expert, and the trustworthiness of moral testimony. This volume engages with the growing literature in these debates and offers new perspectives from both academics and practitioners. The readings will be of particular interest to bioethicists, clinicians, ethics committees, and students of social epistemology. These new essays promise to advance discussions in the professionalization and accreditation of ethics consultation.

This anthology is aimed at academic bioethicists, clinical ethics consultants, and clinicians who serve on ethics committees and IRBs. It has two aims: 1) to engage with the most recent debates regarding moral expertise, especially as it relates to clinical ethics consultation, and 2) to invite new perspectives on moral expertise that suggest ways clinical ethicists can benefit clinicians, patients, and families in the health care setting. We have confirmed new articles from well-established voices in this area, such as Autumn Fiester and Michael Cholbi, and we are continuing to solicit papers that address a variety of questions, such as:

What is a moral expert?                                     Are ethicists moral experts?

Are clinical ethicists moral experts?                What is the nature and scope of moral authority?

Are moral experts like other experts?             How might one become a moral expert?

Are moral philosophers moral experts?          How might we identify moral experts?

Must we listen to moral experts?                     What is the role of clinical ethics consultants?

Can ethicists contribute to good medicine?   Are IRBs/ethics committees effective at protecting

                                                                                moral interests in health care settings?

The book is divided into two parts: The Concept of Moral Expertise and Moral Expertise in Practice. We encourage chapters written accessibly for both academics and professionals and that address moral expertise in clinical settings. The first part of the anthology has 3-5 chapter slots available, and the second part has 1-3 chapter slots available.

Submission Guidelines

Abstracts should be 300-5000 words in length. Please send all inquiries and abstract submissions to Dr. Jamie Watson at jamie.c.watson@gmail.com. Notification of acceptance will be sent by November 15th, 2016.  Completed manuscripts are due August 1st, 2017. Please note that all acceptances are contingent on the strength and fit of the submitted manuscript.

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