The talk starts by outlining three ways that philosophers have thought about ethics – deontology, consequentialism and virtue ethics. I argue that society in general, including the field of psychotherapy, has become enamoured by the shallowest of these, consequentialism. Further, the world has become bewitched by the siren song of the logical positivists and their take on the fact/value dichotomy. When combined, both these have resulted in quantity being used to police not only quality but also human qualities.
The body of the talk takes up a number of issues, arguing for example that codes of ethics serve a number of tacit socio-political functions rather than the espoused one of protecting the general public. In effect, the talk will critically deconstruct the notion of codes of ethics in numerous ways by asking questions like: Are good therapists necessarily ethical therapists? I will argue that ethics cannot be objectified in codes, at least not without grievous distortion of those very ethics.
This fund-raiser zoom lecture on Saturday March 20 in aid of Group Analysis India is being hosted in collaboration with Limbus Lectures.
at:
06:30 am to 8:45 am EST
10.30 am to12.45 pm UK time
11.30 am to 1.45 pm Central European time
4.00 pm to 5.45 pm India
£10 + optional donation (suggested £20)
(All monies raised will be donated to Group Analysis India)
Farhad Dalal is the convenor of the Group Analytic Training in India. He is a psychotherapist and group analyst living and working in Devon, UK, where he convened a number of Limbus Critical Psychotherapy Conferences (www.limbus.org.uk). Over the years he has lectured and written extensively and critically on many subjects, including those of race, psychotherapy theory and practice, politics, managerialism, ethics and research. His books to date are: Taking the Group Seriously, Race, Colour & the Processes of Racialization, Thought Paralysis: The Virtues of Discrimination, and CBT- The Cognitive Behavioural Tsunami: Managerialism, Politics and the Corruptions of Science. (www.dalal.org.uk)