A note from the guest editor

Phi Kappa Phi Forum, Spring 2003 by Luebke, Neil R

IN THIS ISSUE

This issue presents an all-star roster of respected authorities in various specialties in the area of professional ethics; authors were asked to write on the currently pressing issues in their respective fields. The resulting articles should be of interest not only to readers who are in those professions but also to all of us, for we are all affected by the standards of conduct followed by the physicians, accountants, journalists, government officials, lawyers, and engineers on whom we depend for expert services. We are affected as well by the larger social issues that emerge in the practice of these professions.

The modern era of professional ethics began in the 1970s and rapidly blossomed in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1970, outside of a few law schools and medical schools, one would have been hard pressed to find a course on the ethics of a profession. By 1990, virtually all American universities and colleges included such offerings as bioethics, business ethics, engineering ethics, journalism ethics, research ethics, and computer ethics in their curricula. Many professional-accreditation boards now require an ethics component in pre-professional education, and some professional groups require periodic ethics courses for continuing licensure.

The landscape of professional ethics has undergone changes during the past decade. Joseph Herkert makes explicit one change that is illustrated by all the other articles: a greater emphasis on "macroethical" problems. While attention appropriately continues to be given to ethical decisions of individuals in professional practice, the pressing issues appear to be those confronting larger groups such as business and financial organizations, governments, professional societies, and the media generally.

Two authors refer to the Enron scandal as symptomatic of macro-issues in financial and legal spheres. John Boatright, writing on business and accounting ethics, reviews causes and remedies for recent financial scandals. He contrasts an ethical emphasis on fiduciary duties with the establishment of market-based regulations. Robert Lawry addresses the difficulties that the legal profession has confronted in spelling out its role in protecting the public against fraud.

Three authors are also concerned with issues of trust and truthfulness, although focusing on other social institutions. Stuart Gilman, writing in part out of his experience in the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, surveys the complex world of both state and federal ethics activity and suggests that the current legalistic compliance-based systems which dominate in the United States should move in the direction of being values-based. Mark Frankel's call for in-depth scientific study of research integrity has obvious practical implications for research universities, government funding agencies, and the scientific community generally. And Deni Elliott argues that the professional responsibility of the media in democracies is to speak with informed and independent voices to both governments and world citizenry. She illustrates her point with some current, and no doubt controversial, examples.

A final pair of authors calls attention to issues emerging from developments in technology. Joseph Herkert sees computing and information technology as raising professional macro-issues for engineers of all varieties, as well as for computer scientists. Thomas Murray of the Hastings Center focuses our attention on problems of access and responsible use that have either originated from or been exacerbated by "the intersection of medicine, health care, and biotechnology."

Because of space limitations, several important fields of professional ethics are not represented in this issue - for example, education ethics and military ethics. But those that are represented here, even with a limited selection of problems, provide a good overview of the ethical challenges and complexities of modern professional life. I commend them to your thoughtful consideration.

APPRECIATIONS

I am personally grateful to the authors mentioned above, all of them professional acquaintances for several years, for their generous willingness to write for the Phi Kappa Phi Forum. I am also grateful to Dr. Brian Schrag, executive director of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, for helpful discussions during the early planning stages of this issue. Finally, my thanks to editor Pat Kaetz and his staff for making my task an enjoyable one.

The Forum also welcomes the first pieces from its new columnists. We are sure that you will enjoy what they offer.

Neil R. Luebke is Emeritus Regents Service Professor of Philosophy at Oklahoma State University and past president of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi