Counselling and an Ethical Paradox
On the way up Taruyama, Niigata
After 3 weeks holiday I just finished my first week back to the graduate school grind. This unit everyone in this program is carrying two courses – Professional Ethics and Developing a Working Alliance.
Of most interest were the core competencies of the counsellor and a case study that required us to introduce deontological and utilitarian ethical perspectives. The focus topic concerned a hypothetical decision about funding for a rehabilitation program. I jumped in early firing off some initial thoughts based on Kant’s categorical imperative.
The key question for me involves the moral acceptability, if any, of manipulating others to accomplish noble ends. Kant and Mill distinguish the two in a useful but problematic manner. The deontologists uphold an imperative not to use others as a means to an ends full stop. The consequentialists evaluate the merit of the outcome to determine the morality of the means.
I was raised in a New England home based in part on the beliefs of the founder of Quakerism, George Fox. Chief among these was that “there is that of God in everyone”. Fox’s words mandate non-violence based on the inherent worth of all people, call it God or something else. Consistent with this belief, as a counsellor based in a school, I routinely advocate for the respect, influence, and power of individual teens and youth as a group. In practice, I have no issue with fundamentally valuing “all people” and am more than willing to convince, stifle, or circumvent those that stand in the way.
This is worth discussion because I find it morally inconsistent to respect and value all people, yet unquestioningly oppose those that behave in opposition to this imperative. In other words, actions will betray the belief that people who agree with me have inherent value and those that don’t can be dealt with as they fit in as means to a better end. As such, the first week back highlighted this paradox of virtuous action that resists efforts to harm and destroy, yet simultaneously seeks to eliminate those that disagree.
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