We observe in professions like nursing and midwifery, clear principles for conduct (https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/professional-standards). We see these presented for the teaching profession (https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/national-policy-framework/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers.pdf) and other professions (https://www.medicalboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-Policies/Code-of-conduct.aspx).

In these professions we see clear principles presented in Codes of Ethics, standards and other policy documentation that generally uphold principles of: beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy and justice (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7923912/ ).

In such professions they know the difference between a principle and a slogan. Similarly, you won’t find a code of ethics that claims objectivity and impartiality for those who act within that profession, you will in safety. Eg. AIHS Code of Ethics.

Similarly, if you read the AIHS Body of Knowledge chapter on ethics you will see that it has been hashed together by amateurs. Eg. there is no discussion of the nature of power or zero in this chapter.

Just because one has constructed a code of ethics doesn’t mean that such a code is ethical.

Just because a safety guru declares a slogan a ‘principle’, doesn’t mean it’s a principle.

Similarly, in a profession where a code is anchored to clear principles, to which those in the profession are held accountable, discipline will follow if one is found to be dehumanising a client in the name of good. For example:

Being held accountable is a principle of professionalism.

A principle is considered a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as a foundation for a system of belief.

A slogan is NOT a principle. (https://safetyrisk.net/context-does-not-drive-behaviour-another-false-hop-slogan/).

 

The principle of accountability is linked to the principle of justice. In a profession, you can’t just treat people however you want just because it serves your interests eg. the ideology of zero (https://www.humandymensions.com/product/zero-the-great-safety-delusion/).

The ideology of zero (and its assumption of perfectionism of humans and denial of fallibility) naturally lead to the brutalism of persons. Hence zero contradicts the principles of beneficence and nonmaleficence. One can’t follow the ideology of zero and also claim to act professionally or be a professional.

Similarly, if one claims that ‘blame fixes nothing’, this contradicts the principle of justice and autonomy.

In both examples, of zero and ‘blame fixes nothing’ the critical issue of the use of power is hidden.

Similarly with the slogan ‘context drives behaviour’. What is hidden in this slogan is the understanding of motivation (hidden in the language of ‘drives’). Context on its own does not motivate behaviour, it could be argued that it does in some cases but this doesn’t make the slogan a principle. Indeed, what most often drives behaviour in any context, is belief, faith and a host of values embedded in a context, that may ‘drive’ behaviour.

One would need a well-articulated ethic and understanding of moral meaning to begin to understand the drivers of human behaviour. You won’t find such articulated in HOP.

One thing is for sure, you won’t get much of an understanding of why people do what they do, if you are anchored to the behaviourist myth of the slogan ‘context drives behaviour’. Similarly, you won’t find a well-articulated ethic in traditional safety like HOP.

But this is what slogans do, they hide meaning and foster propaganda, which renders the slogan unethical.

If the slogan is manipulative and hides motive then it breaches the principle of transparency.

In this way you can see what slogans are really up to. However, you are unlikely to see such deception without some education in Ethics and critical discourse analysis (CDA).

Rather than foster ethical principles, slogans hide ethical principles.

Indeed, calling a slogan a principle in itself is unethical and breaches the principles of trustworthiness, service, responsibility and openness.

Tackling the challenges of ethics is the foundation of any profession.

If you want to know more about the ethics of risk, you can read here: https://www.humandymensions.com/product/the-ethics-of-risk/