ethics and OST

Tue Aug 31 08:42:42 PDT 2004

Hi

Now that you mention medicine, I suddenly thought of the hippocratic
oath. Doctors must once in a while be faced with the same dilemma,
represented by the question "Should I cure Adolf Hitlers appendicitis?"
Well, doctors have the hippocratic oath, which in one modern version states:
/ I will treat without exception all who seek my ministrations, so long
as the treatment of others is not compromised thereby.../

Actually, there are several useful lessons for OST practitioners in that
oath. You can find the classic and a modern version here:
http://www.geocities.com/everwild7/noharm.html

I especially like the part from the classic version that says:
/Into whatever houses I enter, I will go into them for the benefit of
the sick, and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and
corruption; *and, further, from the seduction of females or males, of
freemen and slaves.*/

Not that that's ever really been an issue in my OST practice :o)

Cheers

Alex

Alexander Kjerulf
alexander at kjerulf.com
http://www.positivesharing.com

+45 2688 2373
Tagensvej 126, lejl. 613
2200 K?benhavn N

R. Duff Doel wrote:

> This is an interesting discussion. Here's my two cents worth...
>
> A few years ago i took a class called: The Philosophy of Medicine. It
> was essentially a medical ethics. The book of case studies was more
> than 60% about who actually has the right to decide what happens to
> your body (including whether it should live or die), you or the physician.
>
> As much as i enjoyed the class, i was disturbed by the mere existence
> of that question. It is my body!
>
> I still feel that way, but the interesting thing is that in a few of
> the discussions about various case studies, i saw the "truth" in the
> physician overriding the choice of the body's "owner".
>
> The essence of this is that as Funda said, ethics are about why we
> choose something, not what we choose.
>
> Harrison said, "I don't really believe that the space is ours to give
> or withhold." I agree with this. My time and my energy, however, are
> mine to give or withhold.
>
> From an ethical point of view, authenticity and integrity are mine
> alone to hold. I cannot be responsible for those things in others.
>
> My world view is that in each act (and thinking and feeling are acts)
> that i take, i have the choice about who that act serves. Either it
> serves the world (all) or it serves self at the expense of others.
>
> One tool of philosophy is that if you are in doubt about the
> significance of an act, take it to the extreme. So, if you have a
> company that is ethically questionable. (i am going to choose an
> arbitrary example, not to offend any individual views.) Let's say you
> have a manufacturer of firearms ammunition. And they want you to hold
> Open Space for them so that they can become more effective in their
> marketing of bullets. Do you do it? Not so clear. But let's say you
> have a troup of militia who want you to Open Space for them so they
> can become more effective in their recruiting and training process. Do
> you do it? Again, not perfectly clear but becoming more so. So, let's
> say you have a team of assassins who want you to Open Space so they
> can become more efficient in their missions. Do you do it? Say, a
> racist organization with a history of brutality, torture and murder of
> minorities comes along...
>
> In each of these cases, i could argue either side. At the very least,
> i could say that if i Open Space for the assassins or racist group,
> that they could use that experience to come to a more harmonius, a
> more caring way of living. But that would be me wanting to impose on
> them my view of the world. That would not be an authentic expression
> of me serving those groups. Rather, it would be attempting to serve
> myself, my views.
>
> If i were to take on the job strictly for the revenue, then it is
> clearly not authentically me. (unless i am all about just making money
> and don't care about where that comes from).
>
> I do feel that who we choose to Open Space for is an ethical question.
> It is a reflection of our own authenticity and integrity in doing our
> work.
>
> So, would i Open Space for a company who's ethical standpoint in the
> world i disagree with? It depends on why.
> And i also agree with Harrison that my being closed would be a show
> stopper as the space wouldn't truly be open.
>
> duff
>
>
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