Copyright

Frans W.A. Brom

Published On

2026-08-14

Language

  • English

Print Length

8 pages

THEMA

  • JPP
  • JPA
  • QDTQ

BISAC

  • POL010000
  • PHI019000
  • PHI003000
  • POL028000

Keywords

  • Ethics and Public Policy
  • Democratic Reasoning
  • Moral Pluralism
  • Orientational Ethics
  • Science-Based Policy Advice
  • Reflective Judgment

8. A roadmap for ethics advice for public policy

Chapter of: Orienting Public Policy: Ethicists in Democratic Public Reasoning

Chapter 8 integrates the book’s theoretical insights into a practical roadmap for ethics advice in democratic policymaking. It presents ethics advice as support for democratic public reasoning rather than a substitute for it, following a democracy-first approach that respects moral pluralism while strengthening collective deliberation. The roadmap is organised around the three forms of ethical engagement developed throughout the book: explicating, engaging, and orienting. Each form is translated into a set of practical guiding questions. Explicating uncovers the normative dimensions of policy issues by analysing values, stakeholders, facts, and existing ethical reflection. Engaging supports democratic dialogue by clarifying disagreements, exploring common ground, and identifying tolerable policy options while maintaining critical distance. Orienting strengthens democratic public reasoning by drawing on the ideals of equality, dignity, the rule of law, and philosophical reflection to foster reflective communality and responsible policymaking in pluralistic societies.

Contributors

Frans W.A. Brom

(author)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6889-9556

Frans W.A. Brom is an ethicist with extensive experience in science-based strategic policy advice. He has worked on issues relating to agriculture, animal ethics, food policy, genetic modification, and parliamentary technology assessment. Brom is Secretary and Director of the Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) in the Hague, an independent advisory body that provides the Dutch government, parliament, and society with science-based strategic policy advice on issues likely to have significant political and societal consequences. In connection with his work at the WRR, he has held the endowed chair Normativity of Scientific Policy Advice at the Ethics Institute of Utrecht University.