Knowledge as a professional value

Edgar, Andrew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4556-5147 2024. Knowledge as a professional value. Smith, Graeme and Todd, Andrew, eds. Future Faith: Public and Practical Theologies for the Contemporary World, Routledge, (10.4324/9781003389743-16)

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

This chapter explores the importance that a principle of truth-telling or honesty would have within a professional ethics. It will be argued that terms, such as ‘truth’, ‘knowledge’, and ‘scientific evidence’ – and by implication, ‘truth-telling’ and ‘honesty’ – are as complex as the overtly ethical terms, such as ‘integrity’ and ‘confidentiality’. By drawing upon Bruno Latour's argument that scientific facts are constructions, the nature of the scientific foundations of professional practice will be explicated. It will be suggested that the professions typically have specialised methods for constructing their knowledge-bases and thus what counts as truth or what supports truth claims. Further, these methods of construction are typically opaque to their clients and to any wider lay public. This creates a gap between professional knowledge and lay experience that inhibits the profession's ability to communicate clearly and openly with the lay public. The tension between professional knowledge and lay experience will be explicated. In conclusion, following hints from Pattison, it will be suggested that a certain interpretation of the Christian gospels can open up a narrative framework for the articulation of a theological relationship between professionalism and truth.

Item Type:	Book Section
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	English, Communication and Philosophy
Publisher:	Routledge
ISBN:	9781003389743
Last Modified:	04 Feb 2025 14:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/175745

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item