ABSTRACT

The architects of conceptual frameworks in the professional ethics field recognized the need for rigorous exploration of the complex connections between theoretical frameworks in moral philosophy and ethical dilemmas in professions such as medicine, social work, psychology, nursing, engineering, journalism, law enforcement, business, the military, and the law, among others. These include theories and principles of what moral philosophers call metaethics, normative ethics, and practical ethics. The biomedical ethicists Beauchamp and Childress developed the best-known framework for understanding professionals’ virtues in the 1970s when the fields of biomedical ethics and professional ethics were just emerging and gaining prominence. When the field of professional ethics emerged in the 1970s, a common feature included the application of ethical theories – rooted in moral philosophy – to the real-life ethical challenges encountered by practitioners. The ethics of care, in contrast, reflects a collection of moral perspectives more than a single moral principle.