Bioethics committees and normative representative pluralism

What principle should guide us when we discuss who should serve as members on bioethics committees? What background should they have? Is there a difference between “experts” and “nonexperts” in bioethics? In this paper I argue that if justification in ethics is based on experiences and the context in which these experiences take place, then the background of the members of bioethics committees should reflect these differences. If we accept that the social context shapes our experiences, and if our experiences are relevant to the ethical beliefs we hold, this implies that bioethics committees should be constituted in a way that reflects our different social background and experiences. However, I am not endorsing some type of “representational” principle. Instead I develop a position referred to as “normative representative pluralism”. The variations and diversity across cultures can be thought of as different responses to common challenges and issues that arise from living a human life. We have the ability to observer and evaluate our actions and to criticize practices that are not in accordance with ethical standards. The task of a bioethics committee would then be to give the most convincing and specific account of how we should respond and act within these spheres of experience.