Understanding Ethical Dilemmas in Safety
One of the intriguing things about this safety industry that has no ethic is that it imagines that ethical dilemmas is a game (https://fromaccidentstozero.com/product/the-safety-dilemmas-game/ ). How astounding this industry that believes in its own scientific objectivity in ethics (AIHS BoK Chapter on Ethics ) decides that it can tackle ethical dilemmas with no study or research in ethics!!! There remains no study of ethics in the safety curriculum globally.
This leads to such absurd claims (AIHS BoK Chapter on Ethics) that morality and ethics are the same thing. Similarly, that right and wrong are determined by ‘check your gut’. I remember when I worked in prisons just how many inmates chose an action because they ‘checked their gut’.
The idea of ‘check your gut’, ‘do the right thing’ and ‘common sense’ are the delusions of safety so that it doesn’t have to tackle the complex and difficult challenges of studying or understanding ethics and morality.
This is how Safety ends up with such immoral and unethical approaches to Investigations (https://safetyrisk.net/investigations-the-iosh-way/ ) because it understands ethics as something relegated to another world. All professions have the study of ethics as foundational to their curriculum, this is just one reason why safety is NOT a profession. The AIHS BoK Chapter on Ethics is one of the most amateurish and embarrassing comments on ethics. Imagine any discussion of ethics in a profession where there is no definition or discussion in their Body of Knowledge on: power, personhood, care, helping, community, social contract, fallibility etc. Yep, that’s Safety. You couldn’t make such incompetence up.
So, when safety people are challenged with a moral dilemma (which is assumed to be an ethical dilemma, when it is not) on what basis, skills or knowledge do they call to make a decision? On what basis does a safety person determine what to do when they can’t even articulate their own ethic? Imagine setting an unethical goal of zero or 1% safer without considering the ethic of such a goal? I wonder what unethical methods one has to adopt to achieve zero with fallible people? I guess that’s easy when you don’t even discuss the challenges of fallibility (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/fallibility-risk-living-uncertainty/ ) and personhood. When your ethic is framed bu zero and 1% safer you have all the excuse your need to dehumanizing others and be brutal! Ah, here’s a safety challenge (notice not an ethical challenge) and the best solution is the sack!
Imagine making up a game about moral dilemmas with no mention of ethics or morality? Image making up a game about challenges in an industry that avoids any discussion of ethics, personhood or power! Talk about the elephant in the room.
Nicholas says
Hi Rob, do you have an example of a great code of ethics in another industry that covers the topics you noted were absent from the AIHS BoK?
Rob Long says
NIcholas, most of the real professions have a good code of ethics. I would be looking at Teaching, Social Work, Community work or Nursing as they are strong helping professions. However, the AIHS BoK is NOT even close. The AIHS BoK claims to be a body of knowledge on ethics, which it is not. Even then, it has no understanding of methodology or philosophical dimensions of method nor the difference between morals and ethics. So, with such incompetence open declared, even a code is not likely to be even remotely professional. When your ideology is framed by zero you can never entertain even the remote possibility of an ethic.
Rob Long says
Simon, it tells you a great deal about this insular mis-educated industry when all the associations continue to peddle nothing new, have no vision and just regurgitate more of the same: numerics, counting, policing and PPE.
It all gets back to its evolution in a mechanistic worldview and compliance. The safety industry would rather demonsise critical thinking than learn.
As for Sharman’s game, how interesting that it sells its game with a sexist blurb! Clear evidence that it has no sense of an ethic. Of all the examples to sell the game, it chooses an unethical example to endorse itself!
This is what you get from an industry that can be sold snake oil as a bonus to a golden turd.
Good luck with your lobbying with UK H&S industry, no such luck here. Our AIHS has no vision and doesn’t want to have one. Much happier pushing compliance and maintenance of the kingdom.
The industry has been indoctrinated over many years and through its curriculum that any talk of philosophy or psychology is irrelevant to what it does. Hence, it has no capacity to think critically.
Your hope in politicians is better than mine. I called for reform of the safety curriculum years ago and there is no interest. Call in an engineer (not an educator) run a review and end up with the same outcome. That’s what they did here.
simon cassin says
Hi Rob,
I agree with your main points about the H&S safety industry having little or no understanding of ethics or morality. But let’s be honest why would any self respecting philosopher or ethicist want to contribute to an industry that is either ignorant of its ignorance or actively choosing to ignore its ignorance.
The likes of Professor Sharman et al having provided behaviour based books, training, conferences etc now feel they can just flick a switch and suddenly be the true sources of knowledge and wisdom in subjects which they obviously don’t understand. As you know I have recently studied both psychology and philosophy at university and can categorically assert that whilst complimenting each other they are quite different disciplines.
You are probably unaware that I have been attempting to raise the issue of ethics in the UK H&S industry for about two years now. This September I am hoping to start a masters in applied and professional ethics at Leeds University. Let’s hope more people from a H&S background seek to develop their understanding of such a fundamental subject.
FYI I have recently spoken to a couple of people who have attended your ethics course and they both found it both interesting and informative. I think it’s wonderful that some are recognising the importance of ethics and searching out decent training to develop their knowledge and understanding. But I would argue that we also need numerous people with a specialist knowledge of ethical concepts and approaches. That way we can constructively debate the main issues and support a future for the industry which is ethically literate. I read many philosophy journals and books and there are almost no papers which are specific to the H&S industry. T.M. Scanlon does have some interesting ideas on topics such as permissibility, ethics of risk, and blame but to my knowledge (what I call proper philosophers) rarely discuss issues pertinent to our industry.
Fingers crossed the politician types who dominate the main stream conversations and certification of H&S qualifications start to get their head out of the sand, so the industry can start to develop an informed approach to ethics and morality.
All the best
Cheerio Simon
Brent R Charlton says
Before the ethics course we just finished, I might not have seen how ridiculous this “game” is. Thank you, Rob!
Rob Long says
Brent, Ethics is just one of many blind spots in this industry that seems more keen on making money from ignorance than actually educating a miseducated community. Sadly, the 1% safer ideology just drives the industry deeper into its own ignorance.