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 and The 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 begins Know it when you see it – change it while you can Make 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 Story Was Me

THANK YOU