Abstract The concept ethics defines health care ethics as a professional practice. Yet the meaning of “ethics” is often unclear in the theory and practice of clinical ethics. Clarity on this matter is crucial for understanding the nature of clinical ethics and for debates about the professional identity and proper role of ethicists, the sort of training and skills they should possess, and whether they have ethics expertise. This article examines two different ways the ethics of clinical ethics can be understood: Real Ethics, which consists of objective moral norms grounded in moral truth; and Conventional Ethics, which consists of conventional norms grounded in bioethical consensus. Drawing on the bioethics literature and features of professional practice, it shows that Conventional Ethics is the dominant paradigm. Then it presents a critique of Conventional Ethics, arguing that it cannot avoid the challenge of moral pluralism, it fails to address vitally important moral questions, and it is incapable of providing an essential service to the people ethicists aim to help. It ends with suggestions about how the practice of clinical ethics might overcome these problems.

Matthew Shea

HEC Forum

HEC 论坛是一份经过同行评审的国际刊物，收录了执业医师、护士、社会工作者、风险管理人员、律师、伦理学家和其他 HEC 委员会成员感兴趣的原创贡献。欢迎来自任何相关来源的投稿，但应编写文本以供 HEC 成员和非专业读者欣赏。 HEC 论坛发表论文、研究论文，并包含以下部分： 关于实质性生物伦理/健康法问题的论文 程序或运营委员会问题的分析 文件交流 专题文章 国际视角 MT./ST.匿名：案例和机构政策 点/对位论证 案例审查、分析和决议 主席的“难点”部分 关键注释 卫生法警报 网络新闻 致编辑的信

HEC Forum is a peer-reviewed international journal that publishes original contributions of interest to practitioners such as physicians, nurses, social workers, risk managers, lawyers, ethicists, and other members of HEC committees. We welcome submissions from any relevant source, provided that the text is written in a manner accessible to HEC members and non-specialist readers. HEC Forum publishes papers, research articles, and includes the following sections: papers on substantive bioethics/health law issues, analyses of procedural or operational committee matters, document exchanges, thematic articles, international perspectives, anonymous discussions of cases and institutional policies, point/counterpoint arguments, case reviews, analyses and resolutions, the Chair's 

HEC Forum 是一本经过同行评审的国际期刊，专注于执业医师、护士、社会工作者、风险管理人员、律师、伦理学家及其他 HEC 委员会成员感兴趣的原创研究。我们欢迎来自任何相关领域的投稿，文章应以 HEC 成员和非专业读者能够理解的方式撰写。HEC Forum 发表各种类型的论文和研究，包括：关于重要生物伦理和健康法律问题的论文、程序或运营委员会问题的分析、文件交流、专题文章、国际视角、案例和机构政策的匿名讨论、对立论证、案例审查、分析和决议、主席的“难点”部分、关键注释、卫生法律警报、网络新闻及致编辑的信件。

Category	Quartile
哲学	4
哲学, 伦理学	4

The Ethics of Clinical Ethics

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