The author responds to Professor Kottow's criticisms, explaining numerous errors and misconceptions.

Two approaches to bioethical and broader applied philosophical debate are discussed and their implications in the context of the current Covid discourse are examined. It is argued that an approach designed to be more 'practical' can be counter-productive, and a more traditional approach to critical thinking has a new and vital role in the context of our current moral and epistemic controversies.

Different beliefs about the nature and justification of bioethics may reflect different assumptions in moral epistemology. Two alternative views (put forward by David Seedhouse and Michael H Kottow) are analysed and some speculative conclusions formed. The foundational questions raised here are by no means settled and deserve further attention.