New Approaches in Ethics for the Caring Professions

'[A] rich addition to the ethics literature, especially in that it encompasses a diversity of helping professions from nursing to teaching to social work to occupational therapy.' - Ethics and Social Welfare

Examines recent developments in ethics and applies these to the practice and organisation of the caring professions. Focuses on what kind of ethical theory might be helpful for professional ethics and explores debates from the perspectives of liberalism, feminism, ecology, postmodernism and constructivism. Hugman from Uni of NSW.Ethics are central to the caring professions. The very idea of a profession stakes a claim on the ethical basis of knowledge and skills. In this book Richard Hugman examines new approaches in ethics and applies these to the practices and organisation of the caring professions. Hugman addresses debates about the relationship between the individual person and social structures, about pluralism and the possibility of universal values, about the challenges created by industrial society and technology, and about the changing social mandate for the caring professions. These debates are considered from the perspectives of liberalism, feminism, ecology, postmodernism and constructivism. Ideas are explained and the implications for professional ethics are explored using illustrative examples from practice to show their relevance for the caring professions.

This book will be essential reading for members of caring professions (especially allied health, medicine, nursing, psychology, social work and teaching) and students entering these professions.