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More than a decade's research at the University of Leeds has focused on a cohesive set of issues bearing directly and indirectly on ethics in the workplace: reasons for action, moral psychology, good judgement, character and integrity. The impact of this work covers: consultancy on organisational ethics; development and delivery of CPD for engineers; use of web-based and online materials to engage professionals in ethical reasoning; applied research and engagement with practitioners on integrity at work; a submission to the Leveson enquiry; and an ethics template for the National Nuclear Laboratory. Its significance and reach in embedding ethics in professional life is demonstrated by the range of these activities and the size of the organisations involved.
This case study looks at the research of Dr William Rossiter, who was a Senior Lecturer in English Literature, specializing in late medieval and early modern literature. The mandatory study of Shakespeare at GCSE and A-level presupposes a moral virtue inherent in studying Shakespeare's works, and Dr Rossiter sought to establish whether this moral virtue exists and to identify what it consists of. For the project called `Shakespeare for Schools', he gave a series of lectures and workshops on the topic in 2013, primarily but not exclusively aimed at school students. Local A-level students from a varied demographic were invited to attend a lecture and workshop on Shakespeare's comedies, tragedies or sonnets, depending on the texts they were studying, followed by a further seminar three months later, with a view to enhancing their knowledge of the early modern ethical principles that underpin those texts. The general public were also invited to a lecture on the themes of time and quality of life in Shakespeare's sonnets delivered on the anniversary of his birth/death (23 April 2013), as part of the opening night of Liverpool City Council's In Other Words literary festival. The impact of the events lies in the effect of the university-level analysis of Shakespeare's works and the moral code they foster, or are seen to foster, upon groups approaching Shakespeare from outside of academia. This impact initiative sought to (a) emphasize the accessibility of Shakespeare and early modern studies, (b) identify the ways in which Shakespearean ethics affect everyday ethical decisions, (c) interrogate the mandatory teaching of Shakespeare in UK schools, wherein his works are taught as part of the GCSE English syllabus and at A-level, and (d) encourage local students to apply to university by introducing them to university-level research.
Prof. Jonathan Dancy has over several decades developed the theory of ethical particularism, culminating in seminal publications dating from his time at the University of Reading, most notably his magnum opus Ethics Without Principles (2004). Particularism has had an impact within the legal profession, not just among legal scholars but on practitioners themselves, even to the extent of its being applied in judicial decision-making. It has also, partly through serendipitous means capitalised upon by Dancy himself, found its way into public ethical debate — directly contributing to the enrichment of civil society and stimulation of cultural life by introducing non-academics to a powerful and provocative new view of morality.
Drawing on his longstanding research in theology and medical ethics, Robin Gill has been an active member of four of the most important national health-care ethics and bioethics committees in the UK (the British Medical Association's Ethics Committee, the Medical Research Council's Stem Cell Bank Steering Committee, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Ethics Committee). Through this work he has produced the content of some of the most widely-used ethical guidance and training by medical practitioners in the UK, contributed to a working group that has led to the Welsh Assembly establishing an opt-out organ donation system in Wales (the first part of the UK to do so), been an active member of the committee which determines what forms of stem cell research are authorized in the UK, and shaped major policy reports on bioethics. Given the scale of his contribution and the influence of the organizations with which he has worked, this has arguably made Gill one of the most important influences on professional medical ethics and bioethics in the UK from the field of theology and religious studies during this REF cycle.
Through our very successful schools outreach programme, Philosophy in the City, several members of staff have brought their research ideas to school students and teachers, with considerable influence both on the students themselves and on the way in which philosophy is taught and thought of within those schools. This activity has formed an important part of our civic engagement with Sheffield and its region, in enabling our research work to be understood beyond the academy, while drawing school pupils into the subject and influencing their attitude both to the issues we deal with and to higher education more generally.
`What sort of person should I be?' is central to Plato's ethical framework, and carries significant relevance for reflection on modern society. Based on her research into Plato's virtue ethics, Angie Hobbs, Associate Professor and Senior Fellow for the Public Understanding of Philosophy (until 2012), has sought to engage the public with philosophy. Regularly appearing on radio, television and in print media, Hobbs has encouraged the public to engage with the knowledge and skills offered by philosophy as a means of understanding contemporary issues. Her public advocacy for philosophy also includes promoting philosophy in schools. She has engaged with educators, policymakers, broadcasters and audiences of all ages.
Within the field of `computer ethics', considerations of the design processes required for software development has remained relatively neglected until the foundational work of Dr Penny Duquenoy under the direction of Prof. Harold Thimbleby helped introduce and establish the need for such concerns. The impact of the embedding of ethics in technology is observable by noting the routine use of ethics expert reviewers and evaluators and on Advisory Boards in EU funded projects since 2007. This has been replicated by the EPSRC who also now include input from ethics experts into their programmes such as the RCUK `Global Uncertainties' initiative. At a professional level, ethics has also become a core consideration for the British Computer Society and its representations to the community it serves.
Dr Toby Ord is the founder of an international organisation called Giving What We Can. This organization is dedicated to the fight against poverty in the developing world. Its members pledge to give at least 10% of their income to aid and to direct their giving to the organisations that have a demonstrated ability to use their incomes most efficiently. The impetus for the founding of the organization was provided by Dr Ord's early work in ethics. He subsequently undertook additional research into how his ethical ideas could be put into practice. The fruits both of this research and of related research by other Oxford philosophers appear on the organisation's website, where, through a combination of pure and applied philosophy, the ethical case for making the pledge is urged. The arguments advanced have proved to be extremely persuasive: many people have been moved by them, and to great effect. The organisation has over 326 members, from seventeen countries, who together have pledged to give over US $130,000,000 to charity.
For over a decade, Professor Julian Savulescu has produced a body of work on the enhancement of human beings and its ethical implications, including work on the ethics of genetic selection and on the ethics of using technology to enhance human capacities. This work has had an influence on public policy, in particular by influencing government bodies in Norway, the United States, and Australia, and on business and industry. It has also been used in teaching material for secondary school pupils by the Wellcome Collection. Furthermore, through the many prestigious public lectures that Professor Savulescu has given and the seminars that he has led, through the television and radio interviews that he has given, and through the extensive discussion of his ideas in the press and online, he has both contributed to the public awareness of and stimulated lively debate around such issues as what distinguishes the use of doping in sport from seemingly acceptable forms of enhancement, and what if anything is wrong with designer babies.
[Key: Bold: text from REF guidelines; Bold italic/italic: emphasis; Superscript: references in sections 3 and 5]
Research by Chadwick has influenced research protocols and policies regarding the ethical consequences of collecting DNA for research. Her impact is most visible in the Personal Genome Project, and the work of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Human Genome Project and H3Africa. Her contributions to discussions and documents resulted in changes to how consent is gained from DNA donors. In particular, the changes address important issues that she raised regarding the practicality and acceptability of the undertakings made in current consent protocols about confidentiality and the future use of data. Chadwick's underpinning research claims relate to the fact that genetic information, and the attendant genetic technology, are derived from, and significant to, populations as a whole. She maintains that biotechnological advances are changing our ethical values, particularly regarding conflicts between personal interests and large-group needs. For her, practical ethics cannot apply normative ethical concepts and theories arising from abstract philosophical reasoning. Rather, the conceptual and theoretical structures themselves must be developed through philosophical engagement with the scientific details of the project. Her collaboration with bodies responsible for the protocols of consent reflects a `bottom-up' moral philosophy rather than the traditional `top-down' theory-driven approach.