> A sense of
> professional identity, and a commitment to standards of excellence which
> obtain within the specific profession, seems to be a far more reliable
> ethical guide than does, for instance, any religious commitment.
One must ask where professional ethics (actually, morals) come from. If the
sole ground of truth is Jesus Christ, then if they are not, directly or
indirectly, derived from the Source, Christians must necessarily find them
to be in conflict with our higher-priority Christian commitments. I think
Collins' comments in the _SA_ article suggested this priority for him, in
spite of the headline lead-in.
> I'm currently engaged in a funded research project to examine the
> way in which biomedical researchers in the pharmaceutical industry render
> moral decisions in the workplace. I can't say a great deal about the
> project at this point, but I can tell you this much. I conduct
interviews
> with professionals, present them with a pair of simulated situations, and
> ask them questions about how they would respond in each. In a staggering
> majority of the cases, those who have previously identified the source of
> their ethical reflections as being "religious" (usually, Christian) are
> extremely uncertain how to proceed in an ethically congested situation in
a
> professional context (this is also true for those who claim cultural
norms,
> or family values, as their source). Those, however, who rely on
standards
> of conduct that are specific to the particular profession in which they
> operate are better able to discern appropriate ethical responses. In
short,
> the more that professional biomedical researchers are able to separate
their
> professional ethics from their personal ethics when operating in the
> workplace, the less likely there is to be moral failure.
> I confess that this was not what I originally expected (or hoped,
> frankly) to find when I began this study. This is only preliminary, and
> I've much more work to do, but I am struck by the consistency of the
> responses.
It would be interesting to know how the depth and clarity of their
Christian orientation is determined in your research. We live in an age
where many ostensible Christians are living compartmentalized lives, where
their Christian thinking interacts insufficiently with their other thinking
to result in a spiritually integrated life. When they face another source
of moral instruction, they are confused because they haven't thought
through "professional ethics" in the context of the Law of God.
> I teach a large number of engineering students each semester,
> and I'm now encouraging them to "bracket" their religiously-based ethical
> principles whenever they are functioning a professional, in favor of
relying
> on the standards of conduct and professional excellence that are inherent
in
> the professional practice itself.
Following from my previous comment, I'm not so sure it is wise to promote
more non-integrated thinking. Instead of "bracketing" their Christianity, I
recommend that they should be challenged to more fully think through how it
applies to their spiritual calling (i.e., "profession").
> There are still problems, of course. It
> would help enormously, in my judgment, if the various Codes of Ethics
(and
> more than 90% of corporations, institutions and professional associations
in
> the U.S. now have them) were more sharply focused, and articulated more
> clearly what the professional standards are within each practice -- and
then
> enforced them.
One of our tasks as Christians in society is to influence the development
of these codes toward a result that is consistent with God's biblically
revealed code of conduct. For example, Joe Carson's on-going DOE saga
illustrates well the need for this. We need thoughtful and informed
Christians to be diving into these scenarios, not bracketing themselves
out, I think.
> The treatment of religiously-grounded ethics as inadequate to
> address the range of complex technical issues that professionals
encounter
> daily is not likely to be a popular approach with many on this list, I
fear.
No need to fear; we're all on the same side. Thanks for having the courage
to raise your viewpoint. Your research is certainly interesting and I hope
you keep us updated on further results from it.
> But I'm convinced that the development of models for helping
professionals
> -- in science, engineering, communications, business, medicine, law, and
the
> like -- make sound moral judgments in these circumstances is vitally
> important. And, so far as I can tell, traditional "Christian ethics"
simply
> does not equip folks working in these domains adequately for making those
> judgments.
This is another ASA action item. What can we do to help fellow Christians
be more spiritually savvy in this area? We certainly haven't neglected
discussion of ethics historically. Do we have some choice _Perspectives_
papers for the Website addressing professional conduct? Joe Carson - any
ideas?
> I would be interested in hearing what those of you on this list
> actually do in ethically conflicted situations in your professional
> contexts. What resources do you draw on? How do make these decisions?
As an engineering entrepreneur, I find that my understanding of the Law of
God applies to engineering and business conduct. Most of the explicit moral
situations in business or industry are covered by the 10 Commandments (do
not lie, do not cheat, etc.). This is not conceptually complicated in most
cases, though it might be volitionally difficult at times.
Dennis L. Feucht
Innovatia Laboratories
American Scientific Affiliation Newsletter Editor
Great Lakes Rocket Society
14554 Maplewood Road
Townville, Pennsylvania 16360
(814)789-2100
dfeucht@toolcity.net