Virtue Ethics

This week I had the opportunity to read and reflect on an important individual-centered approach to ethics  - one that shifts the focus from cognitive philosophies to virtue theory and includes a shift from the “head” to the “heart.”

Considering virtue ethics reminds us that ethics is just as much about developing the right character as it is about following the right procedure. Virtue ethics acknowledges behind every action is a person and the rules and results cognitive ethics is concerned with are best considered in the content of individual character. When considering virtue ethics one answer to the “What to do” question has less to do with rules and results and more to do with what kind of person you are. Virtue ethics becomes a way of life and not a checklist to consider.

One of the interesting concepts that I think comes out of virtue ethics is the idea that individuals cannot be understood apart from their community. George Matthew Adams says: “There is no such thing as a self-made man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.”

I love this idea! It speaks to the value of community and the ways we need one another. I do wonder how the reverse is true. How do the unkind deeds and words of discouragement and hindrance affect the development of our character? Where do we see positive examples of this in our world and where do we see the not so great examples?

As a foster parent I am connected to lots of people who parent children who have experienced awful things. I have a friend who is currently fostering two teenage children who before moving to her house literally lived in a tent in the woods. They have no memory of ever living with electricity or running water. They were being raised by parents and friends who were evading the federal government for a number of reasons. It has been challenging for this family to help these kids understand how many things work in the world – many practical things like school and televisions – but also things related to character. I wonder, internally, what sense of virtue and ethics those two had and how that has developed or changed as they have been in a different living situation and have been exposed to a larger community.

The reading on virtue ethics also highlighted several people as examples of those who display strong virtue and character and are thought to be leading based on a strong sense of “heart” ethics. One of those individuals is Cory Booker.

Cory Booker is a former city council member and mayor of Newark, New Jersey and was elected to the US Senate in 2013. He has shown evidence of serving the public interest with a hands-on tactic to addressing human problems.

You can read more about Cory Booker by googling or clicking here for his wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Booker

From the beginning of his political career Booker has proven that he believes actions speak louder than words. As a city council member in the late 1990’s Booker lived in a tent in the middle of his district and went on a hunger strike in order to increase pressure on the police to crack-down on drug related crime. In his first year as mayor of Newark he did ride alongs with police officers on night patrols and stayed with them until the early morning hours.  He says this gave a message of solidarity: “I wanted to show people that I’m willing to work as hard or harder than anybody in city hall to get the word out to police officers that I was challenging them to show my level of commitment.” Best of all - - this worked! Newark experienced an increase in police productivity and a falling crime rate.

Booker has also experienced the cost of integrity as well. In a TV interview he expressed his feelings about Obama’s negative political campaigning which triggered backlash from fellow Democrats. He retracted his statement but stands by his convictions to the type of political climate that is fostered by negative campaigning.

Book has said “My mom used to say that who you are speaks so loudly that I can’t hear what you say.” This idea sums up his philosophy and points to his emphasis and understanding of virtue ethics.

I first learned of Cory Booker when he received national attention for doing a “food stamp challenge.” Booker agreed to live and eat for one week on what the average food stamp recipient receives in one week. He tweeted and blogged about the experience. The group I currently work with has adopted this idea as well and encouraged out participants in Poverty Awareness Week to take a similar challenge as well. You can see more about his experience here:

Ethics in Film

This week I have had the opportunity to view three movies and consider their ethical dimensions.

One of the movies, Changing Lanes (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264472/) tells the story of what happens one day in New York when a young lawyer and a businessman have an automobile accident and their mutual road rage turns into an all-out feud.

This movie perfectly epitomized the line from a Sir Walter Scott poem that suggests “What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” 

Throughout the movie both men make choices resulting in horrible and life-altering outcomes for the other. They both make selfish choices of revenge not only to get what they want but purposefully to harm the other. The movie ends with a sense of resolution and that although the terrible-horrible-no-good-very-bad day has taken place, both men might actually be in a better place as a result. This brought up major questions for me about consequentialism. Does the film suggest that if the actions of the day resulted in morally positive outcomes the actions are therefore good? It is something I am still pondering.

The second movie I watched was the classic To Kill a Mockingbird (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056592/?ref_=nv_sr_1).  

My parents only watch the old movie channel because they can’t stand commercials and this movie was on this week when I stopped by their house. I had the opportunity to see the end of the film again when Boo – err Arthur Radley is the hero and saves Jim and Scout. 

I thought about how the movie is often heralded as a film that deals with ethical choices around race  - and indeed that’s why the film was playing this week just days after Martin Luther King’s birthday. 

But also thought about the plethora of other observations one could make about parts of the film that have little to do with race. For example – the line that gives the movie it’s title occurs at the end and deals understanding Arthur’s situation and mental capacities. Here’s the clip: http://www.anyclip.com/movies/to-kill-a-mockingbird/understanding-and-thanks/

Coincidently I also read an article when reading about how film portrays ethics in general that discussed how movies portray lawyers that mentioned Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. The article stated: 

     Not since Atticus Finch have lawyers been able to take ethical cues from lawyers

     portrayed in the movies. After all, screen writers get paid big bucks to ensure that lawyers in

     movies face issues that will entertain, not enlighten. But sometimes the lawyers in movies are

     faced with the same types of ethical issues that real practitioners face. What choices do celluloid

     lawyers make when confronted with ethical dilemmas from real life? It is fair to say that the

     Hollywood choices are not reliable guides for real lawyers. 

(More from the article can be found here: http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/labor_law/meetings/2008/ac2008/089.authcheckdam.pdf)

Considering how Changing Lanes portrays lawyers I see the truth in this statement! 

This clip from Changing Lanes gives a small example of the kind of portrayal lawyers get in film. In this clip Banek (the younger man) is hearing from an older partner in his firm about how he feels about a client and the truth about a case. 

Banek is faced with a choice. Now, I am not an attorney and do not know the kinds of choices they are faced to make on a daily basis but I see how most lawyers we see on TV of film are put into situations like this one – to entertain – more than enlighten.

The third movie I watched this week was My Sister’s Keeper (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1078588/?ref_=nv_sr_1).

I was interested to watch the film after reading the book many years ago when it first was published. 

This film also presents several ethical issues but primarily focuses on a young woman (who is 11 in the film) who wants to be medically emancipated from her parents so she no longer has to undergo dangerous medical procedures to try and save her sister’s life. In the film we learn this girl, Anna, was conceived and brought into this world with the clear purpose of being a donor for her sister, Kate. She has donated bone marrow, stem cells and is about to undergo a kidney transplant when the film ends.

This film was interesting to me in light of the recent news of a Connecticut teen who was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma last year and did not want to receive chemo. After discussion with her parents they agreed she would not receive the treatments. At this point the DCF stepped in and took Cassandra into their custody and forced her to undergo chemo and other procedures against her will. In an op ed piece Cassandra recently wrote she described the experience as a continuous nightmare and stated she cared about the quality of her life and not just quantity.

More about the story here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jan/9/cassandra-c-teen-forced-to-take-chemotherapy-i-am-/

These movies together and separate gave me the opportunity to think through issues and other ethical concerns I might not otherwise I have thought about this week. It goes to show that ethics is not something removed from life or who we are but is something that is all around is – only waiting for us to engage. 

Values clashing.

This week I read a journal article about how ethics content taught as a part of field instruction is a vital component of social work education. The article titled Essential Ethics Education in Social Work Field Instruction: A Blueprint for Field Educators was written by Frederic G. Reamer who is a professor in the School of Social Work at Rhode Island College. The article appeared in the journal Field Educator.

Ethical standards and knowledge have expanded in the last 50 years and so should the instruction given to social work students related to ethics. This article gives a brief history of how ethics and values have been included in social work education in the past. Most importantly however, the author provides a comprehensive overview of basic ethics content that should be incorporated into social work internships and highlights essential themes that should be tackled. This content includes core social work values, students' personal and professional values, ethical dilemmas in field placements and social work practice, ethical decision-making frameworks, and strategies to manage ethics risks.

The article noted that in recent years a great deal of social work education particularly related to field education has explicitly focused on students’ decision making skills and strategies. Reamer suggests the field instruction given to social work students should focus on four themes: (1) the value base of the social work profession and its relationship to student’s values; (2) ethical dilemmas in social work; (3) ethical decision making; and (4) ethics risk management.

I’ve chosen to look more closely at the first one of those themes.

It is important for social work students to consider the relationship between their values and the profession’s values. Without taking the time to consider what the values of social work as a field include AND the time for self-reflection to see what is really important to them as an individual – the student may be surprised when the values collide. The article listed several examples of social work students filing law suits against schools or other field placements when their personal values were threatened or in conflict with school or agency policy. I looked up the stories and found one to be interesting because it happened in my home state and relates to an issue that is important to me.

You can read and hear the story here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-student-sues-university-lgbt-sensitivity-training/story?id=11261490

But basically a counseling student at Augusta State University filed suit against her school after school officials threatened to dismiss her from its counseling program when she refused to participate in a “remediation” plan. She says after she made it known that she believed homosexuality was a personal choice the school created this plan aimed at increasing her tolerance of gays and lesbians.  The remediation plan, according to court documents, included attending three workshops on diversity, a monthly two-page reflection on what she has learned from research into LGBT counseling issues, and increased exposure to gay populations. The latter action came with the suggestion that she attend Augusta's gay pride parade. The article goes on to say that the plan also included action aimed at improving the student’s writing skills.

You can read the article and learn more if you’re interested in the story – but this is a perfect example of an instance where values clash.

Who is right and what is right in this instance?

Does a school have the right to say that the student has to believe a particular way about an issue to graduate from the school?

What if the tables were turned? What if the school was a bible college and the student took the opposite stance on homosexuality?

What other issues can you imagine coming up when values clash?

Going back to the article, the author offers a plan of action. When these conflicts arise in educational programs for social work students it is important that professors and field instructors help students examine their values and conduct in light of the core values of social work as a profession. Instructors should also help students consider the values particularly expressed in the NASW Code of Ethics and assist students in their efforts to reconcile these conflicts in a manner consistent with social work’s values and ethical standards. Finally, the author does suggest that in instances when students’ values and conduct continue to violate the core values and ethical standards of the profession, the NASW code of ethics does require field instructors to share the concerns with the appropriate authorities and determine what action should be taken.

Engaging Ethics

Who is writing this blog, anyway?
Its me! I am Meg and I am from and currently live in Georgia. I went away to college where I earned a Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and then went straight to seminary where I earned a Master of Divinity. (I always think that sounds a little pretentious - like anyone could master the divine!) I am currently enrolled at Troy University where I am working on a Master in Public Administration degree with an emphasis in non-profit management.

I currently work at a non-profit community center where I coordinate a community initiative to working to help low-wealth families resolve poverty and thrive. We do this by working with families who want to work with us and helping them create their own plans for success. We match each family with volunteers called Allies who agree to form a friendship with the family and support (not financially) and encourage the families as they journey our of poverty. Its good work and a lot of fun to see such changes in families and our community. If you'd like to learn more visit the Circles USA website at: http://www.circlesusa.org/

My partner and I are foster parents and are currently parenting two children who are not siblings. We have a 22 month old girl and an 8 month old boy. I often tell people it is the craziest and the best thing I've ever done! I blog about that adventure at this site if you're interested! http://roomfortheunimaginable.blogspot.com/

What is this blog about?
I am writing this blog as a way to be intentional about engaging ethics - specifically ethics related to public administration.

How often should I visit?
I plan to post weekly.

Where am I? 
In case you made it here by mistake you've found a blog with this address: http://engagingethics.blogspot.com/

Why does this exist?
Well, that can be a very deep question depending on the answer. For this purpose, this blog exists as an outlet for a student to engage ethics in a new way. It also could provide a meaningful platform for connection and conversation about things that matter. Or things that should matter if we thought more about them!