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Personal Values & Professional Ethics

Article  in  Journal of Forestry -Washington- · July 2000

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Kenneth Kipnis David South

University of Hawai'i System Auburn University
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 Ethics

)ersonal-alues
)rofessional
hics
The
Society
of
posed
American
another
Foresters
revision
ofthe
has,
pro-
•ocietys
P-•he
lmay substantial
well
Code .,•. can
revision
generateof
the
Codeof
Ethics
considerable
Foresters
(SAF).
Some
that
has
controversy
believe
the
within
current
just
the
code
been
propos
Society
isnot
ofAmeri-
sufficiently
spe-
ofEthics.
Changing
a profession's
code
ofcon- cific
toforesters,
difficult
tointerpret
(especially
theland
ethic),
andcounterpro-
duct
might cause
considerable
controversy.
ductive tomotivating ethical
behavior
(Radcliffe
1998).
Otherswillsupport
the
Some
willsupport
thecurrent
wordingand current wording andoppose change.
Some maywantwhichever
codebetter
re-
oppose
change,
and
others
willsee
great flects
theirpersonalvalues.
merit
inthenewwording.
Regardless,
what Toooften,it seems,
foresters
avoid
adiscussion
ofethics,
especially
whenone
weneedisa codethatarticulates
thecore ormore
parties
aredogmatic
and"know"
theyareright.However,
ethics
isborn
professional
values
ofallforesters.
Afirst whenwerespond
toconflict
andconsternation
bytrying
todevelop
procedures
step,
then,
isdistinguishing
ourpersonal andstandards
forassessing
ethical
judgments.
When resolving
theconflicts,
it is
important
todistinguish
between
personal
values
andcore professional
values.
U1-
values
fromthecore
values
offorestry. fimatdy,
SAFneeds toidentify
thecore
professional
responsibilities
anddearly
outline
therules
formeeting
those
responsibilities.
ByKennethKipnisand
David B. South
 This articleis intendedto help tion,requires twodistinctive virtues:a Idaho,wemaynevermeetanyone who
members discuss
professional
ethics
by willingness to entertain viewsin oppo- isfundamentally different.
It canseem
clarifying
whatisirrelevant
andwhatis sition to our own, and a commitment blessedindeedto livein sucha place.
pertinentto identifying
coreforestry to try to form the mostresponsible But even there, national ethical issues
ethics.We startby layingout some judgment onthematterathand. maynot be covered by the prevailing
background. localmorality.Morality,thesetof be-
Ethics and Moralities liefswegrewup with,oftenfaltersIn
Absolutists and Relativists In workingtowardan understand- thefaceof newandtroublingprofes-
Twocommonpostures havetended ingofethics, it isoftenhelpful tobegin sionaldilemmas.For example,our
to giveethicsa badname:Absolutism with morality.When we speakof teachersdid not cover the ethical com-
and Relativism. Absolutists believe morality, whatwehavein mindispeo- plexities of pestcontrol. We thusenter
theyarein possession
of EternalMoral ple'sbeliefsabouttheir obligations. ourprofessions withournativemoral-
Truth,universally
bindinguponevery- Most of us were raised in communities itiesasour originalbaggage. If our
one. Ethical decisions are either black withonepredominant setof ideas,and profession givesusnothingto supple-
orwhite,andallright-thinking
people aswe maturewe typicallylearnthat ment these, our moralities often are
know the difference. On the other peoplefromotherbackgrounds have insufficient to resolveconflictor help
hand,Relativists havenoticedmany differentideasabouthowtheyshould usdiscernthe honorable way.
contradictorysetsof EternalMoral behave. Even if we are convinced we are
Truths,all commanding equalcer- Two problemstypicallyemerge rightandothers arewrong,wecanstill
tainty (and all ethicaldecisionsare whenweapplyournativemoralities totry to develop an independent stand-
gray).If eithertheAbsolutists or the issuesin professionalethics.
Thefirstispoint from whichissues canbe de-
Relativistswereright,therewouldbe the problemof disagreement. It iscided.Whenwestarttryingrationally
little point in discussing
ethics.The clear,for example, thatsocieties
differto decidewhois right,lookingat the
Absolutist knows the answer in ad- in their ideasabout how parents justifications
forbothsides, wearein-
vance,and the Relativistknowsthereis shoulddisciplinechildrenand how volvedin a process of self-reflection.
no answer. children should respect parents. Ethicsisnothingmorethansystematic
It follows that two conditions must Samoan moralityisdifferent
fromthat criticalreflectionaboutour obliga-
be met in orderto derivesomething found in Sweden. What do we do tions.Andprofessional ethics--infor-
from a genuineconversation about whenthereis disagreement between estry,for example--iswhatonegets
ethics.First, therecan be no room for moralities?
Is theotherculturealways whena profession learnsto carryon
dogmatism. We musttry to haveopen wrong?Do they lack a developed sucha discussion internally.
mindsandbewillingto change our moral consciousness?
views if there are valid reasons for Sometimes we avoiddisagreement Personal Values and Ethics
doingso.And second, we shouldnot by avoiding discussion.But if wecon- Justaswebringa moralityintoour
besoopen-minded thatourbrains fall verse,we may discoverdeepdiffer- profession, soeachof ushasa setof
out.Between thedogmatic Absolutist ences.Forexample, foresters
mayenter prioritized personal values.Values may
andthecapricious Relativist
areforest- ourfieldwithvarious preprofessionalbethought ofasendpoints in explana-
erswhoaspire to responsibility
in eth- moralities,
andaccordingly,SAFmem- tionsof actions--anyaction,like ap-
icaljudgments. Probably mostforest- bers may have conflictingnotions plyinga silvicultural treatment. One
erswantto beableto givea goodac- abouttheprofession's obligations.
If all canaskJones,"Whydid youapplya
countof theiractions. Manyforesters wehaveis ourindividualmorality,all herbicide to this stand?"
"Well, I wanted to control the
weeds."
"Why did you want to control
Ethical dilemmas involve weeds?"

hard choices that force us to Jonesanswers,"To grow more

wood."ForJones, growing morewood
give up somethingimportant. isoftena decisive reason for suppress-
ingcompeting vegetation.
NowJonesis asked,"Why do you
wantto growmorewood?"
will listen to criticismsand ask,What of us--as different as we are--are At thispointJonesdoesn'tknow
istherightthingforforesters
todo?In stuck.Our differingmoral beliefs whatto say."If youdon'tunderstand
productivediscussions
withothers,
we probablycannotprovidea pluralistic whyI wantto increase woodproduc-
learn to take into account what we profession
withanethicalconsensus. tion, I can'texplainit to you."Jones's
haveoverlooked andto disregard
what Mattersmaybe differentin small abilityto accountfor the actionhas
has been shown to be irrelevant. homogeneous communities. In aniso- reacheda limit. For Jones,growing
Ethics, as a form of human conversa- latedruralvillagein, say,Alabama or more wood is an ultimate value. Now

July2000
explanationsfor increasing
woodpro- sonalor professionalvalue?More fa- be ableto makeprogress in working
ductionwill vary.Somemaywantto miliarto usareourpersonal values:A outsoundprinciplesfor professional
increase
profits;
others maywantto se- forestermaypreferminticecreamto practice.
quester
morecarbon;somemaywant pistachio.Plainlythe foresterdoesn't It is not somuchwhatoneperson
to meet the material needs of an in- like mint ice cream as a forester: It is shouldcareabout, but rather what the
creasingpopulation;still others,not onlya personalpreference. goodforester
shouldcareabout.The
caringaboutprofits,maywantto in- The forestermayalsoprefervalid purposeof settingdownSAF'score
crease
thesupplyofa renewable energy arguments to invalidones,truth to professional
valuesisto allowthatdis-
source.
Personal
values vary.
Wetryto developroutines andskills
torealize
thegoodswewantmoreofin
our lives and to avoid the evils of which Personal values are not relevant to
we wantless.While somemaywork
for world peace,othersmay seek issuesin professionalethics.
wealthor notoriety.
At thislevel,what
Is goodandbaddepends on personal
values.Counseling and deliberation falsehood,clarityto obscurity. These, tinction.Forthoseof usin forestry, the
canhelpeachof usmakeauthentic de- however, arenotmerepersonal prefer- valuesarticulatedby Leopold(1949)
cisionsthat express our most pro- ences.Theyarepreferences thatevery and Pinchot(1947), asimportantas
foundlycherished values.We canre- goodphilosopher shouldhave.Simi- theseprofessional commitments are,
flecton our values,revisingand re- larly,a goodforester oughtto like it maynonetheless conflict.It isthebasic
orderingthem. whena forestissaved frombeingcon- ethicaltaskof theprofession to come
Personal values are not relevant to vertedto pasturelandandoughtto not to a consensuson how these and other
issuesin professionalethics. If wehave like it when cows destroynewly core valuesshould be articulated and,
to decide whether to use a certain plantedseedlings. Foresters who do equallyimportant,
howtheyshould be
brandof treepaint,it canhappen that not careeitherway haveprobably prioritized.
choice X mostperfectly expresses one made an error in career choice. The Ethicalfinesse.Because
choosing
forester's
personal valueswhilechoice Y valuea foresterplaceson protecting amongconflicting corevaluescanbe
mostperfectly expresses another's:
The soilandwaterqualityisnotjusta per- difficultandpainful,it isoftenuseful
"right"decision foronemaybeatodds sonalvaluethe foresterhappensto to try to findwaysin whichtheissue
withthe"right"decision fortheother. have:It isa corevalueforthepractice can be sidestepped or madeto go
If wetakethisviewpoint in deciding of forestry.Whenwe talkaboutcore away.Oftenit ispossible to assemble
a
anyethicalissue we aremerelydeter- professional values,we speakof pur- checklist of strategies
for evadingthe
miningwhichforester is goingto be posesthat eachSAF membershould hard choice. Is there an economical
happy withtheoutcome. It isoftendif- have in common with others. Core wayof controlling pestswithoutusing
ficultto account for personal values. values makeit possible for SAFmem- effectivepesticides? Ethical finesse
How canoneforester defenda prefer- bersto reachagreement onsomeissues (Jameton 1984)letsusavoidhavingto
encefor yellowtreepaintwhenan- of professional ethics. giveup something precious, suchas
other likes blue? integrity.Thereisnothingwrongwith
In reasoning aboutpersonalvalues ValueAnalysis ethicalfinesse. Indeed,it is helpfulto
we sometimes ask, "What can I live In dealingwithethicaldilemmas, a havea checklist of maneuvers forget-
with?WhatdoI want? Whatisgoing helpfulstepis to do a valueanalysis. ting out of a dilemma.But profes-
to let me sleepat night?"But such Ethicaldilemmas characteristically
in- sionalethicsdoes. not consist entirely
questions arenot questionsin ethics. volve conflict between two or more of finesse. Sometimes hard choices
For all we know, there are murderers corevalues. Theyinvolvehardchoices mustbemade,andSAFmayeventu-
who sleeplike babieseverynight, thatforceustogiveupsomething im- allyhavetodecide abouta toughethi-
killerswhosewickeddeeds areperfect portant.In settingdownthe values calquestion.
expressions of theirmostprofoundly thatareaffectedby differentchoices, Principlesofproj•ssional conduct. In
cherished values.Yet nearlyall of us we canfocusattentionon the impor- engaging theethicalquestion (thehard
willagree thatthemurderer isunethi- tant aspects of eachoption.Though choice thatpersists afterall otherpos-
cal, and thusan actioncan express wemayhavedifferentmoralities and sible solutions have been tried and have
deeplyheld,reflected-upon personal personalvalues,if we can set these failed),it is a goodideato think in
values andyetnotbeethical. asideandconsider insteadonlywhat terms of rules. The result of a successful
good forestersought to be caring conversation in professional ethics
Core Professional Values about(if SAFmembers canagreeto oughtto bemorethanmerelya deci-
Here is a key to the resolution of restrictdiscussion just to thosecore sion made in the case at hand. If the
somecriticalissuesin professionalvalues,anythingelsebeingpersonal decision issoundandgrounded in core
ethics:Is thevaluein question a per- ratherthanprofessional), thenwemay professional values,thenit mightwell

Journalof Forestry
be madeby all SAFmembers under we consider whatwouldhappenif Enlightenment
hasoftenwaitedatthe
similar circumstances. It should be everyone wereto do the same.The endof disagreement.
Conflicting
post-
possible to statean ethicalcanon--a principles of anySAFcode(and,in- tions should be set out and defended
rule--telling professional
forestershow deed,in allcodes)
areintendedto gov- withgreatcare: All participants
should
to act under those circumstances. ern the professional
behaviorof all be concerned enoughto statethem
Sucha rulemightbeacandidate for SAFmembers. Forexample,although precisely andaspersuasivelyasposst-
inclusion in theCodeof Ethics,pro- it may not discernibly damagethe ble.Whereexactly isthepointof dis-
agreement? Whatkindofdisagreement
isit?Is it a disagreementoverpersonal
valuesor professional values?What
Codes are best thoughtof as living, would convince us that one side was
correct?
evolvingdocuments.
Conclusion
A responsible profession constantly
vidingguidance forthewholefieldof profession if a singlemembertakes debates the dimensions of its profes-
forestry. A codeof ethicsgives a mea- credit for the work of another,a wide- sionalresponsibility. The finalprod-
sureof protectionto professionalsspread practice wouldultimately de- uct is not a documentto hangon a
whenclientsor employers directthem stroySAF'scredibility. Therearetwo wallorshowto Congress, butrathera
to actunethically. It is onethingto centralquestions here.First,whatare lively and enlighteningdialogue.
refuse to comply forpersonal reasons, SAF'scoreprofessional responsibili-Within a profession, ethicsis best
quiteanother to refuse to complyfor ties?And second,what are the rules thought ofasa collective undertaking
reasons ofprofessional ethics.A strong that,if theywerehonored, woulden- by whichpractical wisdomis devel-
Codeof Ethics wouldbeof greatvalue ableSAF,collectively, to meetthosere- opedandemployed. It isa shared crit-
to SAF (Arnold1976). sponsibilities? icalreflection onthecommon obliga-
Guardagainst topicchanging. Some- tionsas professional foresters. Thts
AssessingPrinciples timesquestions in professional ethics process is nowunderwayasSAFre-
It is difficult to set out cookbook in- gounanswered because theyarenot visesitsCodeof Ethics.Duringthis
structions for resolving ethicaldilem- clearlyasked.Guardagainstunwit- process, eachnewprinciple should be
mas.Manyissues requireusto decide tinglychanging the subject. Do not givena "value analysis" to ensur6 that
what responsibilities a professionaldriftintoa discussion of personal val- it reflects a corevalueheldbyprofes-
should and should not assume. Some uesor change thetopicto lawandin- sional foresters.
problems maybetoocomplicated to stitutionalreality--humanartifacts
yieldto a simplerule.Sometimes all thatcanbecriticized andchanged. Literature Cited
that can be done is to list the consider- ARNOLD, K.R. 1976. Ethicsin SAF--Needed:A code
Consider theroleofthepro•ssion. To
strong,legal,andenforceable. JournalofForestry
ationsthatprofessionals shouldtake be effective,the Code of Ethicsmust 74:179-81.
intoaccount, withoutindicating how be clear and understandable to forest-
JAMETON, A. 1984.Nursing practice:Theethical
issues
theseshouldbe weighedagainstone ers.Although it istruethatthemain Englewood Cliffs,
NJ:PrenticeHall.
another. Professions have sometimes purpose ofa codeispractical guidance, LEOPOLD, A. 1949.A Sand Coun{yalmanac.NewYork
Oxford UniversityPress.
labored collectively foryears,bothin- actions takenbytheSAFEthicsCom- PINGHOT, G. 1947.Breaking newgroun•NewYork
tellectuallyand politically,working mitteecanmakea profound difference Harcourt BraceJovanovich.
throughan issue.Codesare best in the waydilemmas in professional RADCLIFFE, S.J.1998.Corevalues, ethics,
andforestry
thoughtof asliving,evolving docu- ethics areresolved. Butto bemeaning- In Forestry fbrum: Thelandethic,151-58.Bethesda,
ments. Nevertheless,there are some ful,SAF's MD: Society ofAmerican Foresters.
canons should bevigorously STUART, E. 1994.Unethical professionalbehavior?
In
usefulstrategies for generating and supported (Arnold! 976;Stuart! 994). Ethics
inJbrestry,ed.L.C.Irland,417-24.Portland,
testingprinciples. In additionto rulingonspecific ethics OR: Timber Press.
Generalize. In assessing a codeof cases, therearemanyotherwaysthat UNGER, S.H.1994.Controlling technology:
Ethics
andthe
ethics,it is oftenhelpfulto consider SAFcouldfosteran atmosphere con- responsible
enginee•NewYork: JohnWiley& Sons
howuniformcompliance witha rule duciveto ethicalbehavior(Unger
mightchange accepted practices.
It is ! 994).Forexample, SAFcouldestab-
commonplace in ethicsthat actions lishanawardforforesters whoengage
takenonlybya smallnumberof peo- in ethical behavior under difficult cir- KennethI•)onis (e-mail.'kkipnis@
ple mayhaveconsequences quitedif- cumstances. hawaii. edu)isproj•ssor, Department of
ferentfromthesameactions doneby Nurturedisagreement. Onedoesnot Philosophy, University of Hawaii at
nearlyeveryone. What nurseryman- win an argument by silencing oppo- Manoa, Honolulu, HI96822; David B
agersdo may be permissible even nents. Thosewhodisagree withuscan South isproj•ssor, School ofForestry and
thoughwewouldneverwantforesters nearlyalways teachussomething new lgS'ldliJ• Sciences, AuburnUniverssty,
to actin thatsameway.In generalizing or remindusof something forgotten. Alabama.

14 July2000
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