Podcast – Ethos and Ethics in Risk

In this podcast, Dr. Rob Long and Nippin discuss how your ethos (worldview-methodology) directs your ethic (moral system) as all methods in risk and safety evidence an underlying worldview (ethos). Such matters are rarely discussed in the safety industry. Indeed, the associations in safety never discuss their own ethic, even when they discuss ethics (eg. AIHS BoK Chapter on Ethics). This lack of transparency is unethical and fosters confusion in an industry that seeks to claim the word ‘professional’. Some critical questions need consideration:

• Can you articulate your ethos and what is your ethic of risk?
• How do you define personhood and how does this translate to your practice/power in safety?
• What is your methodology (worldview) that drives your method?

If all you are doing is filling out the checklists that someone else has designed, you are practicing the ethos of the designer, not your own. It is about time that ethics was taken seriously for the practice of safety. Methods that dehumanize persons should have no place in safety.