How does ethical behavior in the professions differ from any other moral behavior?
In many cases, it doesn’t. But because the moral issues confronting professionals in a particular field may differ from those in another field or outside the professional world, there are sometimes benefits to sharing our concerns over these issues with colleagues who (a) share our values, or at least some of them; (b) understand the issues themselves; and (c) understand the professional context of those issues. Furthermore, the community of human practitioners of a particular profession has in many cases developed some values to a greater or lesser degree than the population as a whole, and these “moral specializations” are likely to be reflected in the ethics of the profession. What sorts of ideas tend to be embodied in professional ethics? • general definitions of: • the field itself • the field’s aims or mission • the moral implications of the field • appropriate conduct by practitioners • specific statements regarding: • honesty • assignment of credit for ideas and efforts • metho
