ETHICS AND the Safety, Health and Environmental

Functions

James J. Thatcher

Ph.D.

ETHICS

• Applied ethics – “ethical theory to real life”

Also known as “moral philosophy” is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of “right or wrong” behavior

• Meta-ethics – “What is right and what is wrong”

• Normative ethics – “moral theory”

Many Applications

• Virtue ethics• Stoicism• Hedonism• Deontology• Machine ethics• Military ethics• Public Service ethics• Evolutionary ethics

Code of Ethics

• It seems EVERYONE has a code of ethics these days– Doctors– Lawyers– Engineers– Safety Practitioners– Accountants – Professionals in all walks of life– The ethics documents go on and on– But why do we need one?

Maybe This is Why

• Watch your thoughts, for they become words• Watch your words, for they become actions• Watch your actions, for they become habits• Watch your habits, for they become character• Watch your character, for it becomes your

destiny

Unknown

MY ETHICS

The Moment Of Truth And I’m In The Middle

Character

• Do we need character to have an ethic?

• “Character is the root of success and achievement is the result of character”

• “Your habits define your destiny”

Right and Wrong

• Most of us know the difference between• Telling the truth and telling a lie• Most of us know that honesty & integrity is

important• We are basically good people• We work hard• We try hard• We learn from our mistakes• We want to “fit in” – “succeed” “be accepted”

Good Character

• Do most of us have good character?

• That depends

• We’re not born with good character

• It is something that is developed over time

• By watching those around us

• It constantly evolves – based on the decisions – ethical or not – that we make

A Story

• The story is true

• It was NOT fun

• It defined the “real working world”

• It “refined” the person it happened to

An Ethical Dilemma andThe Moment Of Truth

• When the pressure comes from– A superior– A co-worker– A friend– A relative– Ourselves – our emotional intelligence – our

desire to “win” – to “succeed” to be one of the chosen few – (This is a very strong driver in human beings)

What things can get in the way of making ethical choices?

• Do we see things as “black” or “white?”• Are there “shades of grey” in what we see?• Do we KNOW when ethics matters?• Are we willing to “go to the wall” for our ethical

beliefs? – Impact our career– Lose our friends– Lose our job– Impact our family

Understand Exactly What You Are Deciding

• Is it worth it?

• Am I worth it?

• Is this job worth it?

• Is my family worth it?

• I’ve seen what happens to others

Cloud Our Judgment

• Who our decision affects

• The importance of our decision

• The short-term consequences

• How our decision impacts us

• What other people will think

• What we’ll have to do

Four Questions For Ethical Clarity

• Is it the truth?

• Is it fair to all?

• Is it free from harm?

• Am I proud to do it?

A Test On Ethical Judgement

• If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had eight children already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Question # 2

• It is time to elect a world leader, and YOURS is the deciding vote. Here are the facts about the three leading candidates

• Candidate A: He associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologers. He’s had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks up to ten martinis a day.

• Candidate B: He was ejected from office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks large amounts of whisky every evening

• Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He’s a vegetarian, doesn’t smoke, drinks an occasional beer and hasn’t had any extra-marital affairs

• Which of these three candidates would be your choice?

• Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt

• Candidate B is Winston Churchill

• Candidate C is Adolph Hitler

Abortion Question

• And by the way

• If your answer to the abortion question was YES

• YOU JUST KILLED BEETHOVEN

Ethical Decision Making

• Is not easy

• Is most always NOT black or white

• People can ALWAYS justify the WHY of the facts

Erosion Of Standards

• As an adult – when we first decide to take the easy way out

• THAT becomes the way• That is when the long, slow, steady “way of

thinking” and the erosion process beginsKnow it when you see it – change it while you canMake sure that beautiful face you see in the mirror is still YOUR face – not the face of a “shape shifter”

Hang on to your “core values” no matter what

By-The-Way

The Person In The StoryWas Me

THANK YOU