Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Espoused Ethics vs. Ethics-in-use
I thought the discussion on ethical decision-making behaviors was interesting. I was leading a small group last year when the topic of “pro-life” came up. The members all said they were clearly “pro-life,” which to them, meant preserving life from conception to natural death. According to the authors of our book, this pro-life stance was the groups “espoused ethics.”
There was a shocked silence when one group member said that she would abort a baby that wasn’t completely healthy. This would be what the authors called “ethics-in-use.” A discussion ensued in which the other group members tried to diplomatically point out to the one member that to them “pro-life” meant all life, with no exceptions. The group members articulated the pro-life principle they shared that governed their lives, and then encouraged the individual member to, as the authors also wrote, “review (her) actions, decisions, and solutions to determine how well those behaviors align with the original or espoused set of ethical principles.” I could see each member also applying this to him or herself. I was frankly so relieved when that session was over!
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Good evening Lee very interesting post. Sounds like a very interesting discussion you had there, looks like it got a little tense there. I also was found the area of "Espoused ethics and ethics-in-use" interesting as well. In your case it must have been very difficult for "her" to share that bit of information with group especially after "other group members tried to diplomatically point out to the one member that to them “pro-life” meant all life, with no exceptions." I am just guessing but I bet it turned into "her" defending herself after her statement. The odds do not look to be in her favor after her statement. I too would be relieved after this session was over.
ReplyDeleteHey Lee! First let me congratulate you on writing such an interesting post. Well the topic on which your group members were fighting is supposedly the biggest issue based on values of basic American life. The differences over pro-life issue and abortion rights have created a permanent rift between the values of liberals and conservatives. My say is it is personal choice and what is necessary to be done in a particular situation. Republican conservatives have taken this issue in such extremes they almost ratified a ridiculous a bill known as “personhood” in the state of Oklahoma. This bill gives human rights to unborn fetus. So what I mean to point out here is that the pro life is a sensitive issue and people feel offended when it comes to shaking their value system.
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