Public Reason Requirements in Bioethical Discourse
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21598388 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Søren Holm (0000-0003-1411-1855, University of Oslo, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 74-83 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0963-1801 • E-ISSN: 1469-2147 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0963180124000094 |
| PMID | 38389493 |
| OpenAlex | W4392106721 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 25 |
This paper analyzes the use of public reason requirements in bioethical discourse and discusses when such requirements are warranted. By a “public reason requirement,” I mean a requirement that those involved in a particular discourse or debate only use reasons that can properly be described as public reasons. The first part of the paper outlines the concept of public reasons as developed by John Rawls and others and discusses some of the general criticisms of the concept and its importance. The second part then distinguishes between two types of public reason requirements in bioethics. One type is what I will call the orthodox public reason requirement since it hews closely to the original Rawlsian conception. The second is what I will call the expansive public reason requirement, which departs quite radically from the Rawlsian conception and applies the requirement not to policy discourse or policymaking, but to the actions of individuals. Both types of requirements will be analyzed, and some problems in applying public reason requirements in bioethics will be identified. It will be argued that the expansive public reason requirement is misguided. The concluding part argues that requirements of civic civility and what Rawls terms an “inclusive view” of public reason should be important in bioethical discourse
Bioethics · Civility · Democracy · Epistemology · Expansive · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Public discourse · Public policy · Public reason · Sociology · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · Ethics in medical practice · Law · Patient Dignity and Privacy · Philosophy
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Do Religious Justifications Distort Policy Debates? Some Empirics on the Case for Public Reason
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| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |