Whats Wrong with Professional Ethics

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Whats Wrong withProfessional Ethics?

• Richard Hugman
• School of Social Work
• University of New South Wales

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the liberal tradition

• the twin pillars
• deontology (duties)
• utilitarianism (consequences)
• common elements universal rational objective
  empirical
• principlism
• respect beneficence non-maleficence justice
• syncretistic
• the Georgetown mantra (Stevens, 2000)

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example AASW Code of Ethics

• human dignity and worth
• social justice
• service to humanity
• integrity
• competence
• (AASW, 2002, Code of Ethics (1999), second
  edition, AASW Barton ACT.)

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other perspectives

• non-western traditions
• Conficianism
• eastern religions
• indigenous world-views
• contemporary philosophy (identity, relationship,
  emotion)
• rediscovering ancient ideas (e.g. virtue ethics)
• the ethics of care
• the ethics of compassion

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ethical pluralism?

• ethical pluralism
• neither absolutist or relativist
• primary values - non-contingent
• secondary values - contingent
• value conflict inevitable
• incommensurability
• incompatibility
• openness and dialogue - pluralism as a method

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ethics education

• ethics as practice
• fluency
• reflexivity
• dialogue
• profession as ethical community
• more than avoiding litigation
• codes as work in progress