What is the contemporary role of second-generation philosophical bioethicists?

Abstract

Bioethics originated in the 1970s and has now been around for half a century. During that half-century, brilliant achievements have been made, especially in the West. Basic bioethics theories have been developed that have proved useful in solving many bioethical issues including policies. Moreover, ethics committees and clinical ethics consultations have been implemented in the medical field. However, there seems to be a pessimistic discourse in bioethics in developed countries. For example, mid-career researchers from the world's leading bioethics centres in the UK and North America, Blumenthal-Barby et al, expressed concern and frustration about the current situation of philosophy in bioethics in their 2021 paper "The Place of Philosophy in Bioethics Today" [1]. The authors pessimistically say that.