title: Consensus, contracts, and committees.
abstract: Following a brief account of the puzzle that ethics committees present for the Western Philosophical tradition, I will examine the possibility that social contract theory can contribute to a philosophical account of these committees. Passing through classical as well as contemporary theories, particularly Rawls' recent constructivist approach, I will argue that social contract theory places severe constraints on the authority that may legitimately be granted to ethics committees. This, I conclude, speaks more about the suitability of the theory to this level of analysis than about the ethics committee phenomenon itself.
authors.affiliation: Division of Humanities in Medicine, SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn 11203.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Moreno
mesh_terms: D026688:Bioethical Issues; D032921:Consensus; D003245:Consensus Statements as Topic; D032982:Contracts; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D003657:Decision Making; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D028741:Ethics Committees, Clinical; D004991:Ethics, Institutional; D006761:Hospitals; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D009014:Morals; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D011367:Professional Staff Committees; D014481:United States