This document discusses ethics in decision making and risk taking. It covers several topics: - The relationship between ethics, values, and knowledge. Values are prior to ethics and ethics involves acting consistently with one's values. - Different perspectives on risk from an epistemological and clinical perspective. Risk is defined as the probability of a negative event. - The need for an ethics of risk that is descriptive, uses clear language, acknowledges limits of knowledge, and focuses on risk mitigation rather than just assessment.

1. “Ethics in decision making and risk taking”
A/Prof Michael Robertson
University of Sydney and the Recovre Group / Medicolegalopinions

2. Outline
› Ethics, Values and Knowledge
› Risk from an epistemological perspective
› Risk from a clinical perspective
› Towards an ethics of “risk”
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3. 1. Knowledge, Values and Ethics
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4. Basic questions in ethics
› How do I live a good life?
› How do I behave as a good citizen?
› How do I make good decisions?
› How do I know what I know is good?
›What is the true nature of things?
›What are the values upon which I base my
conception of ‘the good’?
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5. What is good?
› Divine command
› Naturalistic phenomenon?
› Self-Interest and the golden rule?
› Rational excellence and virtue?
› Socially constructed notion of ‘the good life’
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6. Ethics versus values
›Values are conceptually prior to ethics
› 'Ethical’ is to act consistently in light of values
›Values – what we see as important, maxims, rules,
dispositions to act or think
›Values either socially constructed or contextual
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7. Values
VALUES
Individual
Psychology
Social and
Cultural
Professional
and
Disciplinary
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8. Australian ‘values’
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9. The virtuous person – the virtuous citizen
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10. “Descriptive” versus normative ethics
›What is done rather than what ought be done
› Departs from the “grand theories” of ethics
› Derives from Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
› The observation of the habits and dispositions of
great individuals and their deeds
› The basis of empirical studies of ethics
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11. Knowledge
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12. Plato’s Cave
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13. Plato
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14. Francis Bacon - Novum Organum (1620)
Idols of the
cave
Idols of the
tribe
Idols of the
market place
Idols of the
theatre
Idolata
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15. › Idols of the Tribe : Tendency to perceive more order and
regularity in systems than truly exists.
› Idols of the Cave : Individuals' personal weaknesses in
reasoning due to particular personalities, likes and dislikes.
› Idols of the Marketplace : Confusions in the use of
language.
› Idols of the Theatre : Following of dogma or orthodoxy and
rather than sceptcism.
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16. How do I know what I know?
› Sense perception and its flaws
› "Realism” versus “Idealism”
› Reason being ‘slave of the passions’ (Hume)
› Bounded rationality
› Cognitive bias
› Power and knowledge
› Knowledge as a form of “discourse”
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17. The many faces of ‘risk’
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18. The problem of language
› “Risk” as a polysemous term with multiple discourses
› Multiple meanings in multiple context
› Emotive and with connotation
› “Risk assessment” as a definitive act in different
settings e.g actuarial, financial, political
› Term abused eg ”risk issues”
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19. Risk
›An evaluative concept that speaks of
probability of a “negative” event
›Risk = (probability) x (impact)

20. Understanding risk
› Semantically, the conceptual understanding of risk is open to a multitude
of converse possibilities and interpretations
- Positive and negative elements, noun and verb
- To hazard, endanger, to expose to chance of injury or loss, to take or run risks
- To venture upon, take the chances of, to venture to bring into some situation
- Has increasingly come to refer to something negative, risk as a hazard
› Many faces of risk testament to its elusive character as a conceptual
phenomenon
(Althaus, 2005)
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21. › The term 'risk' has causative properties
› Identification of risk creates a moral obligation to act
› Failure to understand or modify risk has potential
commercial, social and legal implications e.g. MH 17
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22. Risk

23. Risk

24. The risk society
›A cultural phenomenon described by sociologists
Ulrich Beck (1992) and Anthony Giddens(1999).
› In the light of progression in technology, much of our
life experience arises from human agency and
therefore we face “manufactured risk”.
› This necessitates our constant reflexive alterations to
how we act.
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25. “Drilling down” into the problem

26. Risk Assessment
›An appraisal of the potential for risk
›Passive “actuarial” approach
›Interventionist approach
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27. Static
•Age
•Gender
•Ethnicity
• Intellectual disability
•Social class
•Educational level
•Developmental trauma
•Criminal history
•History of previous
dangerousness
Dynamic Stable
• Treatment non-responsiveness
• Personality
• Interpersonal support network
• Impulsivity
• Problem solving capacity
• Cognitive schema
• Attribution style
• Attachment style
• Immature or primitive psychological
defences
Dynamic
Changable
•Psychotic symptoms
•Mood or anxiety symptoms
•Substance use
•Acute crisis
•Social isolation
•Unsatisfactory living situation
•Treatment non-adherence

28. Risk Assessment/Intervention in the work place
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Static
• Nature of the
business
• The Broad culture
• History of
bullying/stress
• Global economy
Dynamic Stable
• Institutional culture
• Economic climate
• Legislative
environment
• Local trading
conditions
• Growth or evolution of
business
• Extant risk of
workplace
• Problematic
personnel
Dynamic
Changable
• Problematic
interpersonal
dynamics
• Ineffective
management of
conflict
• Poor management
of acute change
• Problem person

29. 29
Towards ‘an ethics of risk’

30. An ethics of risk
› Descriptive – observe what is done well
› Linguistic – careful use of clear language and
communication
› Epistemic – awareness of the limits of knowledge
and the effects of context
› Moral action – methodology of risk mitigation rather
than risk assessment
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31. γνώθι σαυτόν
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