Experimentalism in Bioethics Research

Abstract

Responding to an accompanying article by Marc Basson, which criticizes an earlier proposal by Ackerman that bioethical inquiry should be based on an empirical approach rather than on direct appeal to general moral principles, Ackerman defends and expands upon his original proposal. Using the case of informed consent as illustration, he reasons that the possibility of identifying norms for conduct that are socially endorsed and effective will be maximized if proposed norms are treated as hypotheses which guide experimentation and observation of results. (KIE abstract)