Ethics in decision making and risk taking
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Transcript of Ethics in decision making and risk taking
“Ethics in decision making and risk taking”
A/Prof Michael Robertson
University of Sydney and the Recovre Group / Medicolegalopinions
Outline
› Ethics, Values and Knowledge
› Risk from an epistemological perspective
› Risk from a clinical perspective
› Towards an ethics of “risk”
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1. Knowledge, Values and Ethics
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Basic questions in ethics
› How do I live a good life?
› How do I behave as a good citizen?
› How do I make good decisions?
› How do I know what I know is good?
› What is the true nature of things?
› What are the values upon which I base my conception of ‘the good’?
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What is good?
› Divine command
› Naturalistic phenomenon?
› Self-Interest and the golden rule?
› Rational excellence and virtue?
› Socially constructed notion of ‘the good life’
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Ethics versus values
› Values are conceptually prior to ethics
› 'Ethical’ is to act consistently in light of values
› Values – what we see as important, maxims, rules, dispositions to act or think
› Values either socially constructed or contextual
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Values
VALUES
Individual Psychology
Social and Cultural
Professional and
Disciplinary
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Australian ‘values’
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The virtuous person – the virtuous citizen
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“Descriptive” versus normative ethics
› What is done rather than what ought be done
› Departs from the “grand theories” of ethics
› Derives from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
› The observation of the habits and dispositions of great individuals and their deeds
› The basis of empirical studies of ethics
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Knowledge
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Plato’s Cave
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Plato
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Francis Bacon - Novum Organum (1620)
Idols of the cave
Idols of the tribe
Idols of the market place
Idols of the theatre
Idolata
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› Idols of the Tribe : Tendency to perceive more order and regularity in systems than truly exists.
› Idols of the Cave : Individuals' personal weaknesses in reasoning due to particular personalities, likes and dislikes.
› Idols of the Marketplace : Confusions in the use of language.
› Idols of the Theatre : Following of dogma or orthodoxy and rather than sceptcism.
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How do I know what I know?
› Sense perception and its flaws
› "Realism” versus “Idealism”
› Reason being ‘slave of the passions’ (Hume)
› Bounded rationality
› Cognitive bias
› Power and knowledge
› Knowledge as a form of “discourse”
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The many faces of ‘risk’
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The problem of language
› “Risk” as a polysemous term with multiple discourses
› Multiple meanings in multiple context
› Emotive and with connotation
› “Risk assessment” as a definitive act in different settings e.g actuarial, financial, political
› Term abused eg ”risk issues”
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Risk
›An evaluative concept that speaks of probability of a “negative” event
›Risk = (probability) x (impact)
Understanding risk
› Semantically, the conceptual understanding of risk is open to a multitude of converse possibilities and interpretations
- Positive and negative elements, noun and verb
- To hazard, endanger, to expose to chance of injury or loss, to take or run risks
- To venture upon, take the chances of, to venture to bring into some situation
- Has increasingly come to refer to something negative, risk as a hazard
› Many faces of risk testament to its elusive character as a conceptual phenomenon
(Althaus, 2005)
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› The term 'risk' has causative properties
› Identification of risk creates a moral obligation to act
› Failure to understand or modify risk has potential commercial, social and legal implications e.g. MH 17
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Risk
Risk
The risk society
› A cultural phenomenon described by sociologists Ulrich Beck (1992) and Anthony Giddens(1999).
› In the light of progression in technology, much of our life experience arises from human agency and therefore we face “manufactured risk”.
› This necessitates our constant reflexive alterations to how we act.
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“Drilling down” into the problem
Risk Assessment
›An appraisal of the potential for risk
›Passive “actuarial” approach
›Interventionist approach
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Components of risk assessment - harm
Static
•Age•Gender•Ethnicity• Intellectual disability•Social class•Educational level•Developmental trauma•Criminal history•History of previous dangerousness
Dynamic Stable
•Treatment non-responsiveness•Personality• Interpersonal support network• Impulsivity•Problem solving capacity•Cognitive schema•Attribution style•Attachment style• Immature or primitive psychological defences
Dynamic Changable
•Psychotic symptoms•Mood or anxiety symptoms•Substance use•Acute crisis•Social isolation•Unsatisfactory living situation•Treatment non-adherence
Risk Assessment/Intervention in the work place
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Static
• Nature of the business
• The Broad culture• History of
bullying/stress• Global economy
Dynamic Stable
• Institutional culture• Economic climate• Legislative
environment• Local trading
conditions• Growth or evolution of
business• Extant risk of
workplace• Problematic
personnel
Dynamic Changable
• Problematic interpersonal dynamics
• Ineffective management of conflict
• Poor management of acute change
• Problem person
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Towards ‘an ethics of risk’
An ethics of risk
› Descriptive – observe what is done well
› Linguistic – careful use of clear language and communication
› Epistemic – awareness of the limits of knowledge and the effects of context
› Moral action – methodology of risk mitigation rather than risk assessment
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γνώθι σαυτόν
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