Theoretical ethics in Professional enquiry

After reading into theoretical ethics, I couldn’t help but consider which category I’d put myself into. I think it’s a very subjective and personal concept and I was particularly struck by the example in the reader of Kevin Carter, the photojournalist that left a Sudanese child to die. I have come to the conclusion that there are two ways in which Kevin Carters actions should be considered, personal and professional.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to assume that Carter would not have let a child die if he could have prevented it in his personal life, i.e. when he was not working, however as a photojournalist, professionally he has to abide by a code of ethics, he is there to observe and report, not to interfere. I can’t even imagine the ethical struggle he must have faced when he saw that little girl, personally wanting to help her but professionally knowing he couldn’t.

From a consequentialist point of view, to save the child may have been worth compromising his professional ethics, after all he already had the photos, why not help this girl to the waterfall, no one would have been hurt and the girl would have survived.

From a Deontologist point of view, there is a right and a wrong, and yet there is two ways of looking at it. Save the girl or not save the girl; obey your code of ethics, or don’t obey them. From a deontological perspective, is it ethically wrong to intervene, or would it be ethically wrong to let the girl die? I think this is a very interesting question.

Looking at the situation from a virtue ethics point of view, I would consider that the moral action of saving the girls life would outweigh the ethical compromise of intervening in the situation.

But where does ethical theory fit in to a professional enquiry?

I think there are many ethical pitfalls involved in a professional enquiry, and when considering ethical theory, I would put myself in the consequentialist category. Luckily I doubt my professional inquiry will include any life or death ethical decisions but none the less I think it’s important to adhere to a sound ethical framework when conducting any research into your profession.

Here are a few of the ethical pointers to which I intend to adhere during my inquiry:

• I intend to make any participant fully aware of the purpose of my research, and ensure that they are completely comfortable taking part in any Surveys/interviews etc.

• I intend to weigh both sides of the argument equally and not let any of my personal opinions reflect in my research results.

• I will faithfully record and present any data collected

• I will only ask questions that are directly useful in my research and any question that may seem irrelevant, I will endeavour to explain it’s relevance to participants

• I will ensure complete anonymity to any and all participants

I think it’s important to remember that the reason to conduct a professional enquiry is to look at a problem, discuss and research the problem and present any findings and solutions that may answer questions and help develop a solution to the problem. There is no point in trying to adapt the issues to suit our academic purpose, I believe that to ethically conduct a professional enquiry it must be fair and balanced and achieve the goal of answering unanswered questions and solving unsolved problems.