Ethics in Professional Life: A Comprehensive Guide
1. ETHICS FOR PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Is it Rational to Keep Talking About Ethics in this Context?
Certainly, because humans, as Kant would argue, are metaphysical beings. This means we resist submitting solely to cold, hard facts. We can keep talking about ethics for two primary reasons: personal choice and social choice.
Personal Choice
Through personal choice, we decide to cultivate our being, engaging in what Mill termed the development of intellectual and moral capacities. Ethics relates to personal growth and self-happiness.
Social Choice
With social choice, we decide to contribute to the common good by participating in community activities. Ethics involves a commitment to being a “good person,” which entails pursuing the common good and striving for the fulfillment of our existence.
The preconditions for ethical behavior are a cultural framework, practical knowledge, and sensitivity. Interestingly, the pursuit of these conditions is already an ethical endeavor. Thus, ethics becomes a necessity of life. Without it, we face imposition and subjugation to economic and political power, which can distort social activities, including professional ones.
2. THE EVOLUTION OF PROFESSIONS
In pre-modern society, culture and professions were structured based on a worldview where divine order reigned supreme. This order was represented by the political sphere, followed by the personal. The priest ensured this order by attending to the divine soul, the lawyer cared for society through laws, and the doctor cared for the body. These early professions, known as the first professions, required oaths of obedience to specific rules.
Calvinism’s Influence
As Max Weber argued, Calvinism significantly impacted professional activities by linking them to salvation or damnation. Professional success indicated salvation, while failure meant damnation. This paved the way for modernity, characterized by the ‘assertion of everyday life’ (Taylor), where professions became public declarations backed by society.
3. WHAT IS A PROFESSION?
Max Weber’s Definition
In his seminal work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Max Weber defined a profession as:
…a specialized and permanent activity of an individual that usually serves as a source of income and therefore provides economic security, forming a foundation for their existence. (Weber 1985, 82)
Professions are a means of livelihood, making them a “unique instrument” for earning money.
Adela Cortina’s Observations
Spanish philosopher Adela Cortina offers three observations on Weber’s definition:
- The purpose of a profession extends beyond being a “source of income.” It has an inherent purpose beyond subjective financial gain.
- A profession is not solely individual but also a group activity.
- Therefore, “the income from an activity, particularly a professional one, provides the professional community with a unique professional identity and a sense of belonging” (Cortina 2000, 15).
MacIntyre’s Inclusive Definition
Based on MacIntyre’s ideas, Cortina proposes a more inclusive definition of a profession:
…a cooperative social activity whose internal goal is to provide society with something specific and essential for its survival as a human society, requiring the assistance of a community of professionals who identify themselves as such within society. (Cortina 2000, 15).
A profession seeks a good or purpose indispensable for social life. Its implementation requires cultivating habits or excellence in the individual and their actions. Professional activity is not isolated but communal, providing identity.
Multiple Uses of “Profession”
The word “profession” has multiple uses, encompassing doctors, teachers, salespeople, soccer players, and even career criminals. The proposed definition helps discern when we are truly in the presence of a profession.
Antonio Peinado’s Classification
Antonio Peinado categorizes professions based on two criteria: the nature of the activity and the purpose of each profession (Comber).
By Activity
- Manual: Predominantly physical, manual, or mechanical work. Also called trades.
- Liberal: Dominated by intellectual work. Referred to as profession itself.
By Purpose
- Right to Physical Life:
- Lower level: cook, shoemaker, tailor, carpenter, farmer, craftsman, etc.
- Higher level: laboratory technicians, researchers, industrialists, merchants, bankers, etc.
- Progressive Law and Unlimited Cultivation of Intelligence: Scientist, theologian, philosopher, artist, teacher, etc.
- Right to Live as Individuals and Members of Society within Legal and Moral Boundaries: Politician, sociologist, lawyer, judge, historian, novelist, religious figure, etc.
4. PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY AS A PURPOSE
Professional activity encompasses social purposes or internal goods. The significance of these goals can be found in Antonio Peinado’s definition of “profession.”
Peinado’s Definition
Profession is:
The orderly and rational application of human activity to achieve any of the immediate and basic needs of human life. (Comber 1962, 2).
Aristotelian Tradition
According to Aristotle, every activity has a purpose, which is its inherent right. However, not all purposes are equal. Some purposes are internal to the activity, meaning the activity’s execution realizes the purpose. Aristotle termed this praxis. Other purposes are external to the activity, making the activity a means to an end. Aristotle called this poiesis.
MacIntyre’s View on Practice
MacIntyre argues:
To understand any coherent and complex form of socially established cooperative human activity as “practice” means that the goods inherent in it are achieved while striving for models of excellence appropriate to that form of activity and partially defining it. As a result, human ability to achieve excellence and human concepts of the ends and goods associated with it are systematically extended.
The elements that constitute a practice are: i) it is a cooperative activity, ii) it is socially established, iii) it seeks to realize internal goods, iv) the achievement of these internal goods produces excellences or virtues in individuals who engage in them.
External Goods
MacIntyre acknowledges that legitimate practices also yield external goods like money and recognition. However, these are not the essence of the activity. Corruption occurs when external goods replace internal goods. External goods are legitimate as long as they are subordinate to internal goods. Otherwise, the professional activity becomes meaningless and loses social legitimacy.
5. EXCELLENCE AS A PATH TO ACHIEVING THE END
Aristotle’s Virtues
Following Aristotle, we can argue that virtues or excellences (aretai) are crucial. Professional virtues are central to professional ethics because they are the means by which the purposes of professional activities are achieved.
Gonzalez’s Perspective
Gonzalez argues that professional ethics is:
Systematic reflection on the moral norms governing behavior in professional activity (González 1996, 277)
A “systematic analysis” of rules can transform professional ethics into deontology, limiting its value. It’s not just about reviewing and updating ethical codes but also about promoting the virtues necessary to achieve the specific purposes of the profession. “Professional ethics” does not simply mean imposing and accepting standards. All professional practice involves virtues or “excellence.”
Virtue as a Public Matter
Virtue is not a private, intimate quality possessed only by well-intentioned individuals. It is a personal, interpersonal, and inter-subjective matter, both individual and collective. Not all activities require the same virtues. Police officers, workers, employees, and teachers require different strengths to achieve their internal goods.
Camps’ View on Professionalism
Camps observes that each profession has specific virtues distinct from public virtues (like solidarity, responsibility, tolerance). She points out:
Professionalism is a public virtue to the extent that it serves the common interests of society, not merely the maintenance and preservation of existing roles, functions, and corporations. It becomes a private virtue to the extent that it helps the individual be truly independent and not enslaved by their activities. (Camps 1993, 105)
Virtues of a Professional
According to Gonzalez, the virtues of a professional are productivity (capacity and attitude to produce efficiently), creativity, and self-improvement. However, not all professions require the same virtues. To determine the good practices and virtues a professional should cultivate, both professionals and the beneficiaries or users of their services should be involved.
Cortina on User Involvement
Cortina states:
Users experience the quality of service, and while they may not understand the internal workings of the profession, they are essential in determining which practices lead to quality service and which do not. Therefore, today’s professional cannot be isolated, cannot write code or design their committees without ordinary citizens, without the actual or virtual beneficiaries of the service to society. This aspect must be radically transformed. (Cortina 2000, 24)
The practice of virtues is intertwined with the fulfillment of the profession’s “purpose.”
6. THE PROFESSION AS A COMMUNITY ACTIVITY
Professional practices are communal in at least three respects:
Shared Language and Methods
Professionals share a common language, methods, and a way of being. The transmission and renewal of knowledge occur within specialized professional communities.
Identity and Belonging
The professional community becomes the reference point for the individual professional, providing identity and belonging.
Endorsement of Purpose
The community of professionals endorses the task of fulfilling the purpose of that practice.
Corporatism
“Corporatism” manifests as covering up illegal activities committed by professionals. It seeks to protect the profession or school, shielding individuals from public scrutiny for incompetence, unethical behavior, or negligence, while disregarding “minimal professional standards” (Vielva). Corporatism undermines the sense of professional community.
7. THE PROFESSION AS AN EXPRESSION OF CIVIL SOCIETY
Traditionally, society was viewed as a dichotomy between civil society and the state. However, civil society was often understood solely as an expression of economic activities, i.e., the market. Today, it’s inaccurate to claim that civil society consists only of the market and stands in opposition to the political sphere. Civil society also encompasses professional, public, civic associations, and, indeed, economic organizations.
8. CONCLUDING REMARKS
The Social Aspect
Professions fulfill specific needs of individuals within a society.
The Economic Aspect
Every profession has an economic dimension, both socially and personally.
The profession has a distinctly economic character since the economy also addresses human needs and their fulfillment. Indeed, professions develop within the economic field, arising from economic causes and producing economic effects. (Alvarez 1957, 171)
In today’s ‘producer society,’ professions that don’t produce what the economic system demands are often devalued or questioned. This is the case with professions like Philosophy, Literature, Theology, and Art. The profession has become the primary economic means of livelihood for professionals.
The profession provides the economic means for private, personal, and domestic needs. Professional activity is now the standard source of income for individuals who do not live at the expense of others. (Alvarez 1957, 173)
The Personal Aspect
Professional practice requires a certain vocation or skills to provide optimal service. Professions often shape other areas of a professional’s life.
One’s life is organized around their profession, so much so that if it were to disappear, their life would often unravel. This organization affects both the private and public life of the individual. Habits, judgments, ways of thinking and doing, forms of internal and external action depend on the profession and are explained by it. Types of family life and friendship styles are also derived from the profession in many ways. (Alvarez 1957, 172-173)
Camps argues that professional life can be a source of enjoyment and recognition. The problem arises with the ‘absolute professional,’ where the profession consumes personal life, fragmenting it and confining it to a small space. Another downside is the “loss of autonomy,” where external goods like money, success, and power become the sole motivators, neglecting internal goods (Camps 1993, 102-104).
REFERENCES
ALVAREZ, Joaquin. Ethics of our time. Mexico: UNAM. 1957.
CAMPS, Victoria. Public Virtues. Madrid: Espasa Calpe. 1993.
CORTINA, A. Until a people of devils. Public Ethics and Society. Madrid. Taurus. 1998.
CORTINA, A. and Conill, J. (Dirs.). 10 Keywords in Ethics of the Professions. Navarra: Verbo Divino. 2000.
GONZALEZ, Luis José. Ethics. Bogota: The Owl. 1996.
MacIntyre, Alasdair. After Virtue. Madrid: Chair. 1987.
COMBER, A. Treaty of Professional Ethics. Madrid: BAC. 1962.
REGAL, Bernardo. Fundamentals of Ethics. Lima: Universidad de Lima. 1988.
VIELVA, July. Professional Ethics in Nursing. Bilbao: DESCLÉE De Brouwer. 2002.
WEBER, Max. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Buenos Aires: Orbis. 1985.