Moral philosophy and professional practice: a critical commentary

Abstract

The presented text is a critical commentary of Damián Salcedo’s «The Good Professional» (2015, pp. 17- 24). This work offers a characterisation of professional integrity and of certain dilemmas that face social workers in their daily practice, from the starting point of a formal characterisation of our moral judgments. The work assumes that a previous task of conceptual clarification —essentially philosophical and focused on the type of reasons that underpin our moral judgments— may be of assistance in analysing typical professional conflicts and dilemmas. Assuming that any professional domain should pay attention to the scientific data that would be useful in explaining the work that is carried out within it, this commentary explores the consequences for professional ethics of applying an «empirically informed» philosophical characterisation of our moral capacity. This commentary will argue that this empirical information should significantly shape the demands to which professionals are subject and should certainly also lead us to rethink the institutional mechanisms that could reinforce proper professional practice.