PHI 2397 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Whistleblower, High-Altitude Pulmonary Edema

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 2397
• Professor: Jon Miller

Document Summary

Moral conflicts: decide whether, other things being equal, speaking out is in fact public interest, must weigh responsibility to serve public interest. Professional ethics requires collegial loyalty, code of ethics often stress responsibility to public over and above duties to colleagues and clients: personal in nature and cut across first two: concluded facts warrant (authorization) speaking out. Fear the results of carrying out duty and that their duty to do overrides loyalties to colleagues and institutions. Careers ability to support themselves/ family may be unjustly weakened. Whistleblowing has a narrower aim of shedding light on negligence or abuse, or alerting a risk and of assigning responsibility for risk. The more repressive the authority they challenge, the greater the personal risk they take in to speak out. Even ordinarily authorities may come to regard dissent as unacceptable and even disloyal. Hierarchy violated in whistleblowing; hopes to keep job.