Overview

Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected by professionals. It involves the ethical obligations that people have in virtue of their role as a professional (e.g., doctor, lawyer, engineer).

Core Idea

The core idea is that professionals have special duties because society trusts them with critical goods (health, justice, safety).

Formal Definition

Professional ethics are principles that govern the behavior of a person or group in a business environment. Like values, professional ethics provide rules on how a person should act towards other people and institutions in such an environment.

Intuition

  • The Lawyer: A lawyer defends a client they know is guilty. Why? Because professional ethics (the duty of zealous representation) overrides their personal feeling that “bad guys should be punished.”
  • The Journalist: A journalist protects a source’s identity even if the police demand it.

Examples

  • Hippocratic Oath: The foundational code for medical ethics (“First, do no harm”).
  • Attorney-Client Privilege: The duty to keep client secrets.
  • Engineering Ethics: The duty to prioritize public safety over client profit (e.g., refusing to sign off on a dangerous bridge).

Common Misconceptions

  • Misconception: It’s just the same as ordinary morality.
    • Correction: Sometimes it conflicts. A doctor might have to treat an enemy soldier. A lawyer might have to discredit a truthful witness.
  • Misconception: It’s just about avoiding lawsuits.
    • Correction: It is about maintaining the integrity of the profession.
  • Fiduciary Duty: The legal/ethical obligation to act in the best interest of another party (e.g., a financial advisor).
  • Code of Conduct: The written rules of a professional body.
  • Conflict of Interest: A situation where personal interests clash with professional duties.

Applications

  • Medicine: Confidentiality, informed consent.
  • Journalism: Objectivity, protecting sources.
  • Accounting: Independence, accuracy (avoiding Enron-style fraud).

Criticism and Limitations

  • Protectionism: Critics argue professional codes often serve to protect the profession’s monopoly and income rather than the public.
  • Role Morality: Can you be a “good lawyer” but a “bad person”? (The problem of compartmentalization).

Further Reading

  • Professional Ethics by Bayles
  • The Sociology of the Professions by Keith Macdonald