Experts & Institutions

This new research centre interdisciplinary study of the nature of expert knowledge and the role of experts in law and society.

Experts & Institutions is closely linked to the Institute of Applied Ethics, in particular its Criminal Justice Ethics and Biomedical Ethics programmes, but its interests extend beyond ethics, embracing a range of philosophical, social and legal questions about expert knowledge and the authority of experts. We hope eventually to expand the Centre into an inter-institutional and possibly international network for the study of these issues.

The proper role of expert knowledge is an area of continuing public debate. In the legal world this debate has been stimulated by the Law Commission Consultation Paper on Expert Evidence in Criminal Trials, and other controversial issues such as the role of expert witnesses in the family courts and the assessment of scientific evidence in environmental and health debates.

We have organized a successful conference on Experts, Authority and Law in September 2009. We hope that a selection of papers from this conference will form the first in a series of publications associated with the Centre. We plan to arrange a continuing series of workshops/conferences on topical themes. These will include a workshop, linked to the Royal Institute of Philosophy lecture on virtue epistemology by Duncan Pritchard, on 12 May 2010.

We are also organizing an interdisciplinary reading group to study works on the social role of experts, starting with Democratic Authority by David Estlund. The first meeting will be on 27 April 2010.

If you would like to join Experts and Institutions and/or the reading group, or find out more about our activities, please contact either:

Antony Hatzistavrou

Philosophy, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX

Tel 465662 e-mail: A.Hatzistavrou@hull.ac.uk; or

Tony Ward,

Law School, University of Hull, Hull HU6 7RX

Tel 01482 466387, Fax 01482 466388, e-mail: A.Ward@hull.ac.uk