-
10. Professional Codes
- University of Pennsylvania Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
o to PROFESSIONAL CODES The primary reason to cut through the screen of ideology for a realistic view of the dynamics of professional life and to institute reforms in its institutional framework is to foster the observance of the professional ethic. But is there a professional ethic in any sense of the word? The term 'professional ethics' has several meanings. It refers, first, to the norms required by the moral point of view for the kind of work that professionals do, that is, an ideal rational ethic. This is what moral theorists try to formulate. It does not yet exist in perfected form acceptable to everyone. 'Professional ethics' means, second, common norms actually followed by most professionals. Sociologists describe widespread practices; an ethic exists to the extent that professions regard such practices as morally obligatory. Since the norms for these practices are not necessarily acceptable from the moral point of view, this sense of 'professional ethics' differs from the first. The term means, third, common elements of codes of professional associations. Many such codes exist, but they do not always conform either to rational norms or actual practices, so this sense of 'professional ethics' is distinct from the first two. Finally, the term refers to a prospective compact between the professions and society. The institutional reformer seeks to create such an ethic, but with the proviso that it conform to rational ethics and the hope that its principles will gain currency among professionals and become incorporated in their codes. Only with the convergence of the first three senses of 'professional ethics' can there be a harmony between pretensions, practices , and the legitimate expectations of society. The present work scouts the territory that will have to be crossed to create an ethic of the fourth sort as a means to promoting the convergence of the other three. 210 STRUCTURAL CHANGE It is prudent to begin with the existing codes of professional associations, treating them as hypotheses to be criticized with a view toward the final ethic at which we aim. To utilize codes in this way, we must attend to three things: how the codes must be perfected from the moral point of view; how acceptance can be gained for perfected codes among professional groups; how institutions can be developed to ensure that the codes will be followed in practice. Wehave discussed the problems of gaining consensus and restructuring institutions in prior chapters. Here we will discuss the task of perfecting codes. Evaluating Existing Codes Many professional associations arrogate to themselves the function of moral engineering for the entire occupation. At an early stage in the professional project, the association sets up a committee to draft a code. It duly debates and adopts the code and revises it from time to time. It imposes it with more or less force on all who work in the occupation whether or not they belong to the association. The result is a plethora of codes across the spectrum of occupations, some careful and detailed, others vague and perfunctory. Some of their elements are intended to shape practices to conform to ideals; others are ideological masks better suited to cover over practices than to improve them. To evaluate codes as instruments of moral persuasion, therefore, we need first of all to examine their actual uses.' We will not examine the major codes in detail but develop a strategy for evaluation, using their provisions as illustrations. The strategy will be consequentialist. One is prone to assume that any ethical code is a good thing, but are these? What are the consequences of having codes at all and what are the consequences of codes of this and that character? The concepts of function and dysfunction are basic to this analysis. A function is a set of consequences that either explain or justify a rule, practice, or institution. A dysfunction is a set of consequences that does or should inhibit its observance or support . The definitions cover two kinds of functions and dysfunctions. What will be termed social functions are the actual consequences that explain the existence of rules, practices, and institutions. Sociologists have developed the notion of social functions to [3.238.6.55] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 14:38 GMT) 211 PROFESSIONAL CODES understand the way systems of action are kept in equilibrium with their environments or propelled forward in certain directions . Thus, among the social functions of professional codes are their corporate functions in maintaining the status of occupations as professions and their societal...