CFA - Bioethics in an Age of Authoritarianism: Critic, Bystander, or Accomplice?
Christopher Mayes
**Call for Abstracts** Bioethics in an Age of Authoritarianism: Critic, Bystander, or Accomplice?
Workshop hosted by the Cultures of Technoscience Network at Deakin University, Naarm (Melbourne) Downtown Campus, Australia, Tuesday 20th October 2026, Convened by A/Prof Chris Mayes (Deakin University) and A/Prof Diego Silva (University of Sydney)
Bioethics is a polarising field. For some, it is a field forged in response to medical scandal, abuse, and domination. It is the continuation of the Socratic legacy: asking the hard questions, holding the powerful to account, and critiquing unchecked authorities. For others, it is, to quote Carl Elliott, a group of "pompous blowhards who are widely ignored even as they insist on their own importance."
At a time of increased authoritarianism, often entangled with health and wellness cultures, we ask: where is bioethics? What is the role of bioethics:
- when people with disabilities are openly mocked by elected representatives;
- when basic healthcare and support services have funding cut while vast sums pour into speculative AI and biotech research;
- when hospitals and healthcare workers are treated as justifiable military targets;
- when race and ableism continue to shape healthcare provision;
- when rising nationalism is indexed to health and fitness;
- and when wellness and bio-enhancement converge with gender politics?
This workshop seeks to provide a platform for reflexivity about the field of bioethics. We do this as scholars (and activists) working within the field. We seek to avoid the easy options of disavowing bioethics altogether or simply rebranding as "critical" bioethicists. The field is what it is — so how can we move it forward?
This workshop seeks to examine the relationship between bioethics, bioethicists, and political authoritarian movements (broadly construed). We ask: Is the field a critic of authoritarian power, a bystander to it, or in its silences – its institutional entanglements, and its methodological habits – is it an accomplice?
Format
20-minute presentations followed by discussion. The workshop is intended to be a working session rather than a conventional conference panel, with ample time for discussion.
Submission Guidelines
Using Google Form, please submit an abstract of no more than 250 words, along with a short bio note (up to 100 words) by Friday 21st August 2026.
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by Friday 28th August 2026.
Kind regards,
Chris
Associate Professor in Philosophy
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Arts and Education
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Co-host of Undisciplinary podcast
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