This conference focused on ethics and normative issues relevant to public trust, the nature of expertise, and the role of experts in public life and politics. It was hosted by the American University of Armenia, in the beautiful capital city of Yerevan, on May 31 and June 2, 2022. The event was co-organised by the Centre for Ethics in Public Life, University College Dublin, Ireland.

Keynote speakers were:

“Experts in a Democracy: Resistance and Rationality ” by Åsa Wikforss (University of Stockholm), (the recording is available here)

“Truth, Trust, and Fear of Expertise” by Lynne Tirrell (University of Connecticut), (the recording is available here)

“How Should We Explain Widespread Seemingly Irrational Beliefs?” by Paul Boghossian (NYU) (the recording is available here)

 

Topics of interest to the conference included, but were not limited to:

The normative dimensions of trust;
The value of trust (and distrust);
The ethical requirements of trust;
The Wh of trust (When, why and who should we trust?);
The moral dimension of trust/distrust in experts;
The ethical obligations of expert advice;
The democratic deficit of epistocracies;
Moral expertise.

The conference primarily focused on philosophical approaches to trust and expertise, but contributions from media and communication studies, information science, public policy, social and political sciences, and science studies were also covered as the papers applying the topics listed to issues were relevant to climate change or COVID 19.