John Dewey’s Ethics, Pragmatist Bioethics, and the Case of Gestational Surrogacy

Abstract

John Dewey relates ethics in general with the mode of inquiry. Against the mainstream ethics and moral theories, Dewey reconstructed morality in light of empirical science, providing the necessary steps of pragmatic ethical investigations. In this study, I have revisited Dewey’s ethical inquiry and recent developments of the methods of pragmatist bioethics. Using this approach in ethics, I have examined the development of reproductive technologies and genetics, precisely the moral dilemma of gestational surrogacy at the level of a public issue that needs social policy. In the final part, I have suggested the significance of Dewey’s emphasis on education, deliberative democracy, and institutions and agents’ role as the basis to solve bioethical issues arising in different societal contexts.