Abstract
This paper is a reaction to an article by John Arras published earlier in this journal. In this article Arras argues that “freestanding pragmatism” has little new to offer to bioethics. We respond to some of Arras' arguments and conclude that, although he overstates his case at certain points, his critique is, broadly speaking, correct. We then introduce and discuss an alternative approach to pragmatist ethics, one which puts to work the ideas and insights of pragmatism conceived as a broad philosophical movement, without lapsing into a canon dependent approach. The approach we propose exhibits a number of characteristics that differ from Arras'saccount of freestanding pragmatism and offers something new to bioethics.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Arras JD. Freestanding pragmatism in law and bioethics. Theor Med Bioeth 2001; 22: 69–85.
McGee G. The Perfect Baby: A Pragmatic Approach to Genetics. NewYork: Rowman and Littlefield, 1997.
McGee G, ed. Pragmatic Bioethics. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1999.
Miller FG, Fins JJ, Bachetta MD. Clinical pragmatism: John Dewey and clinical ethics. J Contemp Health Law and Policy 1996; 13: 27–51.
Grey T. Freestanding legal pragmatism. In Dickstein M, ed. The Revival of Pragmatism. New Essays on Social Thought, Law, and Culture. Durham: Duke University Press, 1998: 254–274.
Posner R. Pragmatic adjudication. In Dickstein M, ed. The Revival of Pragmatism. New Essays on Social Thought, Law, and Culture. Durham: Duke University Press, 1998: 235–253.
Wolf S. Shifting paradigms in bioethics and health law: the rise of a new pragmatism. Am J Law Med 1994; 20: 395–415.
Fins JJ, Bachetta MD, Miller FG. Clinical pragmatism: a method of moral problem solving. Kennedy Inst Ethics J 1997; 7: 129–145.
Moreno JD. Bioethics is a naturalism. In McGee G, ed. Pragmatic Bioethics. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 1999: 5–17.
Jonsen AR. The Birth of Bioethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Lakatos I, Musgrave A. Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970.
Dickstein M, ed. The Revival of Pragmatism. New Essays on Social Thought, Law, and Culture. Durham: Duke University Press, 1998.
Sandbothe M. Die Renaissance des Pragmatismus. Weilerswist: Velbrück Wissen-schaft, 2000.
Hickman LA. John Dewey's Pragmatic Technology. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1990.
Hickman LA. Philosophical Tools for Technological Culture. Putting Pragmatism to Work. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 2001.
Akrich M. The description of technical objects. In Bijker W, Law J, eds. Shaping Technology/Building Society. Studies in Sociotechnical Change. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1992: 205–224.
Putnam H. Words and Life. Cambridge: Havard University Press, 1994.
Caspary WR. Dewey on Democracy. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2000.
Westbrook RB. Pragmatism and democracy: reconstructing the logic of John Dewey's faith. In Dickstein M, ed. The Revival of Pragmatism. Durham: Duke University Press, 1998: 128–141.
West C. Prophetic pragmatism: Cultural criticism and political engagement. In Goodman RB, ed. Pragmatism. A Contemporary Reader. New York: Routledge, 1995: 209–234.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Schermer, M., Keulartz, J. Pragmatism as a Research Program – a Reply to Arras. Theor Med Bioeth 24, 19–29 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022945606323
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022945606323