Living Ethics in Theory and Practice

This volume advances a new approach to ethics: “living ethics”. As an ethical and philosophical orientation, living ethics offers a refreshing perspective on how difficult human situations become opportunities for co-learning and co-creative ethical thinking.

Living ethics starts with the observation that moral problems are living and vital problems that affect our daily lives. It orients scholarship and practice by using theory in a pragmatic way to solve real-life problems, by fostering spaces for dialogical reflection on these problems, and by working closely together with stakeholders to co-imagine solutions. Central to living ethics are human flourishing, interconnectedness, dialogue, responsiveness, moral spaces, and epistemic justice and humility. The chapters in this volume are divided into three parts. The first part introduces and discusses ideas central to living ethics such as ethics as a way of life, co-learning, and epistemic humility. The second part features several examples of practices and projects informed by a living ethics stance in wide-ranging contexts such as public policy, substance use, healthcare, aging, and research. The third part features open-ended discussions and reflections on models of governance and implementation to propel ideas central to living ethics in areas such as international relationships, education, research ethics, and healthcare.

Living Ethics in Theory and Practice will be of interest to a wide range of scholars, graduate students and practitioners working notably in ethics, philosophy and the humanities, social science, psychology, healthcare, and policy.

Eric Racine is a Canadian bioethicist and professor at IRCM and Université de Montréal, Canada, leader of projects and initiatives to further the development of living ethics.

Bénédicte D’Anjou holds the position of research coordinator at the Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit, where she supports and conducts various living ethics initiatives with patients and healthcare professionals. Concurrently, she is pursuing a PhD in Information Studies at McGill University, Canada, focusing on women’s experiences with reproductive health information.

Caroline Favron-Godbout is a PhD candidate in bioethics at the Université de Montréal, Canada. With a background in biology, neuroscience, and a professional master’s degree in bioethics, she conducted her doctoral research at the Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit. Her work aims to make ethics accessible and meaningful in daily life.

Giulia Inguaggiato is an assistant professor at the Department of Ethics Law and Humanities of the Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands. She has a background in philosophy and bioethics, with a primary research interest in ethics support and ethics education.

Suzanne Metselaar is an associate professor and medical ethicist at the Department of Ethics, Law and Humanities of Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands, and leads a research program on ethics of palliative and end of life care, studying moral challenges in palliative care. She also researches the theoretical foundations and methodologies of clinical ethics.

Gabriel Saso-Baudaux is a PhD student in practical philosophy at the University of Sherbrooke, Canada. His research looks at the norms of scientific advice to governments. Broadly speaking, he is interested in political epistemology and the philosophy of social sciences and expertise.