This book is an interdisciplinary contribution to bioethics, bringing together philosophers, sociologists and Science and Technology Studies researchers as a way of bridging the disciplinary divides that have opened up in the study of bioethics.

This book addresses the problems faced by people and hospitals dedicated to providing optimal end-of-life care and asks whether ethicists can function as experts on this subject. Though ethics consultation is a growing practice in medical contexts, difficult questions surrounding the role of ethicists in professional decision-making remain. The chapters in this book examine the nature and plausibility of moral expertise, the relationship between character and expertise, the nature and limits of moral authority, the question of how one might become a moral expert, and the trustworthiness of...