Empirical Ethics and Its Alleged Meta‐ethical Fallacies

Abstract

This paper analyses the concept of empirical ethics as well as three meta-ethical fallacies that empirical ethics is said to face: the is-ought problem, the naturalistic fallacy and violation of the fact-value distinction. Moreover, it answers the question of whether empirical ethics (necessarily) commits these three basic meta-ethical fallacies.

Practicing Reflexivity: Ethics, Methodology and Theory Construction

“…I believe that in the growing field of bioethics research, the methodological discussion should not detach from epistemological analysis and involve the intertwining relationships of how it is done and analyzed within the studied context. One of the fundamental challenge or epistemological anxieties in ethics debates revolves around the ethical principles or values 'taken for granted' within the studied context (Borry, Schotsmans and Dierickx, 2004;Molewijk et al, 2004;Walker, 2007;De Vries and Gordijn, 2009;Leget, Borry and De Vries, 2009;O'neill, 2009;Ives and Dunn, 2010;Ives, 2014;Davies, Ives and Dunn, 2015;Johnstone, 2015;Salloch et al, 2015). The critical constructivist grounded theory methodology employed in my study considers relativist epistemological stance, and acknowledges the researcher's connectedness of experiences in theory constructions or moral arguments and helps critically examine the existing practices.…”

Empirische Forschung in der Medizinethik: Methodenreflexion und forschungspraktische Herausforderungen am Beispiel eines mixed-method Projekts zur ärztlichen Handlungspraxis am Lebensende

“…Die Verwendung empirischer 1 Methoden im Rahmen medizinethischer Forschungsprojekte ist gegenstand eines aktuellen interdisziplinären Diskurses [3,8,11,18]. Die bestimmung des beitrags empirischer Untersuchungen zur (medizin-)ethischen argumentation, die Relevanz empirischer Vorannahmen für die verschiedenen ethischen Theorien und die Formulierung von Konzepten einer (Medizin-)ethik, die die empirische Forschung integriert, sind gegenstand der Untersuchungen [14,24,25].…”

Empirical Legal Research: The Gap between Facts and Values and Legal Academic Training

“…80 Christen & Alfano 82 Related to this second approach is to study how lawyers (and others) in practice handle ethical and normative issues. Perry et al 's study on 'the Ethical Health Lawyer' is an example.…”