Practising professional ethical wisdom

Abstract

This chapter explores that 'professional ethical wisdom' as the disposition to engage in judicious practical deliberation in workplace situations in which matters of harm, benefit, rights and responsibilities are at stake. While the capacity to reason and make good judgments is important in professional ethics, this is often emphasised at the expense of the less visible work of moral perception, imagination and emotion. It examines the aspects of professional ethical wisdom in the social welfare field. The chapter argues the term 'practical wisdom' rather than 'ethical wisdom', insofar as the Aristotelian 'practical' clearly includes the ethical. It presents the Aristotle's concept of phronesis , along with more recent developments of this notion in relation to professional life, as a starting point for exploring the ethical dimensions of social welfare work. It discusses the seven elements or dimensions of ethics work, which are framing work, role work, emotion work, identity work, reason work, relationship work and performance work.

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