PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND A CALL FOR PHILOSOPHICAL LITERACY. Issue 54 (2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Knight, Andrew
• Is Part Of: Think. Volume 19:Issue 54(2020)
• Page Start: 37
• Page End: 47
• Publication Date: 2020
• Subjects: Philosophy -- Periodicals; 105
• DOI: 10.1017/S1477175619000290
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1477-1756

Abstract

Abstract : It could be argued that there is now a crisis of confidence in the professions. Although many professionals individually undertake their roles with care and diligence, there have been so many systematic failures involving professionals across a range of sectors, both in the UK and globally, that the special status enjoyed by the professions is being widely questioned. In this article, I argue that recent cases are symptomatic of a lack of ethical reasoning in professional practice, yet professions enjoy an elevated status based on claims that ethics, typically communicated in codes of conduct, are central to their purpose. I argue that to help solve this crisis, philosophical literacy needs to be promoted in school, initial professional education and continuing professional development. Passing tests to superficially demonstrate an understanding of a code is quite different from reasoning through practical dilemmas in the professional workplace with judgements informed by philosophical ideas.