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Current Sociology
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The Moral Organization of the Professions

Bioethics in the United States and France

Raymond De Vries

University of Michigan, rdevries{at}med.umich.edu

Robert Dingwall

University of Nottingham, Robert.Dingwall{at}nottingham.ac.uk

Kristina Orfali

Columbia University, ko2145{at}columbia.edu

Bioethics is a relatively new endeavor, emerging as a discourse distinct from considerations of moral responsibility occurring within the professions of medicine and science. This article uses the `de-centered comparative method' to examine how the emergence and development of bioethics varies across different social and cultural settings. In particular, the article looks at bioethical work in the US and France, exploring these different manifestations of the movement toward external oversight of those working in medicine and the life sciences. Our comparative data demonstrate how pathways of professionalization are shaped by contingent cultural and historical factors. We contrast `demand' and `supply' theories of professionalization and suggest that the increasing prominence of the bioethical occupation is the result of both the professional desires of bioethicists and a concern for the public good.

Key Words: bioethics • regulation • sociology of medicine • sociology of the professions • sociology of science

Current Sociology, Vol. 57, No. 4, 555-579 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0011392109104354
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