Abstract
This paper provides a comparative perspective on applied professional ethics. As part of a multi-site research project, findings from a qualitative interview study of Cuban psychologists were compared to findings from a similar study of psychologists and social workers in three Canadian human service settings. The comparison generates insights into the contingent nature of conceptions and applications of ethics: that is, the authors found that different 'stories' about the meaning of professional ethics derived from the different historical, political and economic relations of Cuba and North America. Such differences were manifested in the relation of the professional to the political, in collectivist versus individualist orientations to ethics, and in relationships between the personal and the professional. The authors contend that the importance of a comparative approach is that it encourages a reflexive attitude to ethics by unsettling the notion that there are universal prescriptions for ethics. In addition, the comparison opens space for including the dynamics of privilege, marginalization, power and resistance as crucial elements of the social construction of professional ethics.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 533-556 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| Journal | Theory and Psychology |
| Volume | 12 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2002 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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Keywords
- Comparative ethics
- Culture
- Ethics
- Postmodern ethics
- Postmodern mental health
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychology(all)
Cite this
Ethics as a located story : A comparison of North American and Cuban clinical ethics. / Rossiter, Amy; Walsh-Bowers, Richard; Prilleltensky, Isaac.
In: Theory and Psychology, Vol. 12, No. 4, 01.08.2002, p. 533-556.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Ethics as a located story
T2 - A comparison of North American and Cuban clinical ethics
AU - Rossiter, Amy
AU - Walsh-Bowers, Richard
AU - Prilleltensky, Isaac
PY - 2002/8/1
Y1 - 2002/8/1
N2 - This paper provides a comparative perspective on applied professional ethics. As part of a multi-site research project, findings from a qualitative interview study of Cuban psychologists were compared to findings from a similar study of psychologists and social workers in three Canadian human service settings. The comparison generates insights into the contingent nature of conceptions and applications of ethics: that is, the authors found that different 'stories' about the meaning of professional ethics derived from the different historical, political and economic relations of Cuba and North America. Such differences were manifested in the relation of the professional to the political, in collectivist versus individualist orientations to ethics, and in relationships between the personal and the professional. The authors contend that the importance of a comparative approach is that it encourages a reflexive attitude to ethics by unsettling the notion that there are universal prescriptions for ethics. In addition, the comparison opens space for including the dynamics of privilege, marginalization, power and resistance as crucial elements of the social construction of professional ethics.
AB - This paper provides a comparative perspective on applied professional ethics. As part of a multi-site research project, findings from a qualitative interview study of Cuban psychologists were compared to findings from a similar study of psychologists and social workers in three Canadian human service settings. The comparison generates insights into the contingent nature of conceptions and applications of ethics: that is, the authors found that different 'stories' about the meaning of professional ethics derived from the different historical, political and economic relations of Cuba and North America. Such differences were manifested in the relation of the professional to the political, in collectivist versus individualist orientations to ethics, and in relationships between the personal and the professional. The authors contend that the importance of a comparative approach is that it encourages a reflexive attitude to ethics by unsettling the notion that there are universal prescriptions for ethics. In addition, the comparison opens space for including the dynamics of privilege, marginalization, power and resistance as crucial elements of the social construction of professional ethics.
KW - Comparative ethics
KW - Culture
KW - Ethics
KW - Postmodern ethics
KW - Postmodern mental health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036367402&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0036367402&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0959354302012004298
DO - 10.1177/0959354302012004298
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0036367402
VL - 12
SP - 533
EP - 556
JO - Theory and Psychology
JF - Theory and Psychology
SN - 0959-3543
IS - 4
ER -