Between ethics and technology: Metamorphosis of ethical expertise

Abstract

This article analyses the fluidity of a human condition in terms of ethical boundaries. Recent technological developments have made the ethical framework of the notion of a human volatile and prone to revaluation. This revaluation requires established practices of conduct and interpretation of an ethical expertise. The article describes such new forms and ways to make them part of the repertoire of established institutions. In addition, the article differentiates the specifics of an ethical expertise and a humanitarian one. The former is focused on protecting the human condition from technologically-borne distortions and on making such protection a part of political and social institutions. The latter, in turn, is designed for the purposes of social engineering. It is supposed to help in the development of new social contexts, including ones that merge humanity with the results of high-tech endeavours. An ethical expertise is more focused on preserving the status quo. A humanitarian expertise is proactive and based on non-linear social foresights. The authors believe the reactionary nature of an ethical expertise to be the result of widespread shifts in the established definition of a human. This can be easily illustrated in such fields as biomedicine and gene research. Namely gene editing and major organ transplants can blur the line between human and non-human entities. The article points out an ongoing deficiency, on a methodological and conceptual level, when it comes to a humanitarian expertise. Furthermore, the article contains the groundwork for articulation of a humanitarian expertise. This form of expertise is unique due to its institutional nature and inclusion of the role of “researcher-participant,” which an expert is supposed to play. While elaborating on the differences between a humanitarian and an ethical expertise, it is noted that an ethical expertise aims at preserving the existing norms and boundaries of the notion of a human, outlined in treatise and conventions, while a humanitarian expertise strives to recreate the norm of a human in accordance with its new state — as a fluid and dynamic category.