PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND PRACTICES - COLUMN 172
Topical Index-Table of Contents to the Professional Ethics and Practices Columns
A topically based Index-Table of Contents, “pe&p index.xls” cov ering columns, articles, and letters to the editor that have been referred to in the PE&P columns in Excel format is on the AIPG web site in the Ethics section. This Index-Table of Contents is updated as each issue of the TPG is published. You can use it to find those items addressing a particular area of concern. Suggestions for improvements should be sent to David Abbott,
dmageol@msn.com
Compiled by David M. Abbott, Jr., CPG-04570 5055 Tamarac Street, Denver, CO 80238 303-394-0321,
dmageol@msn.com
Morals and Ethics
An observation I heard: “The ethical man knows that cheating on his spouse is unethical while the moral man does not cheat on his spouse.”1 This observation distinguishes between ethics and morals on the basis of actions. Behaving rightly is not just knowing what the right thing to do is, it is acting that way. This obser- vation is really about integrity, that is not only knowing what the morally/ethi- cally correct thing to do is but acting in conformance with that knowledge.
In my ethical writing and speaking, I’ve distinguished between morals and ethics by stating that morals are infor- mal statements about acting rightly that we’ve all learned, generally informal- ly (following Bernard Gert’s Common morality—deciding what to do (Oxford Univ. 2004)). Ethics are written, codi- fied statements adopted by a particular group such as the AIPG Code of Ethics. This distinction is useful for contrast- ing common morality from professional ethics.2
More generally, morals and ethics concern themselves with distinguishing right from wrong, with character, with actions or behavior, and the volition involved in the actions of responsible persons.3 Dictionary definitions define “ethics” in terms of “morals” and “mor- als” in terms of “ethics,” so the terms are quite similar, and the definitions are circular.
Each of the three preceding para- graphs is an important and different statement about moral and ethics. They express some fundamental concepts that are worth periodic re-examination and contemplation.
Professional ethics and the geosciences
Aaron Johnson’s, Mem-2783, “Professional ethics and the geoscienc- TPG describes an early career assignment in which a heating oil tank was removed fol- lowed by removal of the piping from the tank to the adjacent building. Johnson describes the muddy mess of insulation surrounding the piping that contained increasingly visible gray fibers as things dried out a bit. Johnson was concerned about these fibers, but his supervisor and project manager were unconcerned and wanted the work to continue. Johnson quit that job shortly thereafter. Johnson noted that he had not received any rel- evant training on working with poten- tially hazardous materials in college. This was his first experience with poten- tially hazardous working conditions and the fact that employers are sometimes unconcerned.
I spent two years as a field tech for a mining exploration consulting firm in the late 1960s. A fair amount of my time involved running electromagnetic or magnetometer surveys over properties, primarily in the Colorado mountains. These were one-man surveys. At the end of the day, I’d call the office and let them know what I’d done that day. This call was also the safety check that I hadn’t fallen and broken a leg or met with some other emergency situation. Fortunately, the worst that ever happened was get- ting a 4×4 stuck in the mud, which involved a 3-hour walk to a phone and another 2½ hours of waiting for someone to come pull me out. Looking back now, I realize that I shouldn’t have been work-
2. See Professional Ethics Fundamentals and Professional Practice Examples:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smOZOjTNNA8, 40 minutes.
3. We don’t hold children, the insane, and others with diminished mental functions to the same standards of responsibility and moral behavior.
The real lesson here is to be sensitive to poten- tially troubling situa- tions and don’t be afraid to stop and ask questions. This is where mentors, including those who are outside your organization can help.
“
ing alone. But that is what everyone did at the time. The only exploration geolo- gist I ever heard of getting in trouble was fishing, rather than working, when he slipped into a stream, broke a leg, and had to wait several hours for rescue while still sitting in cold water. Cell phones with GPS certainly can improve the situation, but they don’t always work in the boonies. The general lack of trouble is not a good justification for working alone in rugged terrain.
Johnson’s story reflects the time at which it occurred. But academic courses still don’t cover many topics that one needs to learn about in one’s professional practice. This fact simply recognizes that there are limits on the amount of topics and time available in formal education. This is why continuing professional education or professional development is an encouraged, if not required, part of many professional ethics codes. The types of emerging problems faced by today’s professionals (young and old) differ in some respects from those of 20–30 years ago. The real lesson here is to be sensitive to potentially troubling situations and don’t be afraid to stop
1. While I used “man” in the observation because the text flows better, “woman” or other gender-neutral term could be used.
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