The Reader introduction said "Ethics is a fascinating area of study." That seems to be the case, as I found this Reader to be one of the most interesting so far.
Ethics comes from the Greek word ethos, to mean"character".
In Robert McKee's (1999) guide to writing, entitled Story, he makes a distinction between characterization and character for the purpose of creative writing. Characterization is the physical appearance, traits, mannerisms, drive. Whereas character is only shown through the choices a person makes in a moment of crisis (this is often in the form of a moral/ethical conflict within the character). Great stories are built on this. We as a people, seem to be fascinated with the ethical choice, be it in literature or film.
Imagine it : Our main character is a thief. Whilst robbing a jewelry store at night, he sees a fire in the adjacent building. A woman cries that her child is still in the building.
Our thief must make an "ethical choice" - get away clean (professional ethic) or save the child and risk the possibility of being caught (personal ethic).
So he saves the child. The child is returned to the waiting arms of the mother, and the thief finds himself in the waiting arms of "New York's finest ".
However, upon hearing of the thief's heroism, the arresting officer is faced with an "ethical choice" - continue with the arrest (the professional ethic) or let the man go ( the personal ethic).
Personal and Organisational Ethics.
Personal ethic seems to be built on the influence of family and peers, re-enforced by the law: a codified series of Do's & Don'ts endorsed by the masses for the good of the masses.
Originally, I was going to write that the law is there to boaster our own ethical code - the law being a backline of defence : if unsure consult the law. However sometimes the law seems to be at odds with the personal ethic. Up until recently, the age of marriage/consent in Vatican City was Twelve.
This was law, but to western ethical standards this was wholly abhorrent. Pope Francis announced an age raise to Eighteen, in light of child abuse cases in the Catholic church. Was pressure from the outside world also a contributing factor in the change? It would not be the first time that someone has re-evaluated their moral position due to the general/ social ethic of the masses.
Case study 2 is a case in point. The photographer Kevin Carter tragically took his own life.
Did his conscience get the better of him, only after winning a Pulitzer Prize for his photo? In effect prospering from someone else's death - a death that he could have averted. Or did he take his life when the public, ( mass ethical pressure) discovered the story surrounding the photo.
Another case is that of Dr Gil Lederman. Dr Lederman was sued by George Harrison's family. They claimed that whilst the terminally ill George Harrison lay dying, Lederman forced him to sign autographs. When the case came to the publics attention, there was an outcry. Lederman had crossed a professional ethical line for his own gain. The Doctor, faced with ethical pressure from the public, later announced that he would sell the autographs for charity.
Professional Ethic
I have given a couple of examples of how personal ethical positions can shift, due to the mass ethical position. However, the Clapham omnibus shows that societies ethical view and the law, is in constant state of flux. It changes in sympathy with the changing world.
Professional Ethics can also change to reflect the current climate.
In 1954 the American Comic book industry was in trouble. The government was accusing it of lowering the moral standards of young readers. In some cities, organised comic book burning took place. Faced with imposed Government regulations, the Comic book industry chose to form a self-regulating body. And so, from that moment on, all comic books carried a stamp on the cover stating " Approved by the Comic Code." This code meant the comic would follow strict guide lines. It was prohibited to show policemen, judges, and government officials in a bad light. Within the story, good would always have to prevail over evil. Law enforcement officers could never be seen to die at the hands of the criminals. Plus, the portrayal of sex, violence and demonic creatures were forbidden.
Through the prevailing years, tastes, and opinions changed, to the point where some of the ethical/ artistic issues of conduct were no longer an issue. The code was still placed on the cover, because many major advertisers felt re-assured by it, and would therefore place their ad's within those comics. By 2000 many comic companies had abandoned the code, and yet were still able to secure advertising revenue. The two biggest comic companies; Marvel and DC eventually dropped the code ( Marvel in 2001. DC in 2011.) in favour of their own age rating system.
By 2011, the last of the comic companies to retain the code, announced it would be removing the stamp from it's covers.
The Ethical code was gone. Replaced by a new set of guidelines to fall in line with the changing world. A world exposed to, and tolerant of, a more explicit depiction of sex and violence, and crime and establishment corruption.
Personal Ethic vs Professional Ethic
Returning to the case of photographer Kevin Carter. The idea that the professional ethic of a photographer is to observe and not interfere, is interesting. Does this mean that being a licensed voyeur makes you unaccountable where life and death is concerned. We could therefore say anyone without moral conscience need only to strap a camera around their neck to be exonerated. I think the moral issue is not that he failed to save the girl's life, but that he failed to do anything.
If you are on stage and a woman in the front row is choking to death - do you continue performing, because your professional ethic dictates "The show must go on." ?
My Professional Ethic
Once I finished the Reader, I went back over my original plan for a ethically sound Inquiry. I think my instincts were correct on Data Protection and Human Rights. However if my Inquiry encompasses the views of children, I would have to be mindful of health and safety - something I had failed to take into account on my original plan. Also, I took it as a given that I would be courteous when documenting individuals in my report; however, after reading Case Study 5, I realised this was something else I would have to give assurances on, within my plan. Lastly for the integrity of the inquiry, plagiarism is also a ethical responsibility. One, that I had previously taken as a given.
No comments:
Post a Comment