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PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND A CALL FOR PHILOSOPHICAL LITERACY

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2019

Andrew Knight
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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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Think , Volume 19 , Issue 54 , Spring 2020 , pp. 37 - 47
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2019

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