scholarly journals Where Public Interest, Virtue Ethics and Pragmatic Sociology Meet: Modelling a Socially Progressive Approach for Communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Jane Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Pragmatic Sociology

The virtuous epidemiologist

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 864-869
Author(s):  
E C Ip
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Moral Philosophy ◽  
Public Interest ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Public Health Interventions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Principles And Standards

Abstract This article addresses the scholarly gap in the ethics of epidemiology by exploring what virtue ethics, one of the oldest ethical traditions in moral philosophy, has to say about ‘the virtuous epidemiologist’. It expounds comparatively the content and merits of a virtue ethics approach against more popular contemporary schools of thought such as consequentialism and deontology. Without necessarily dismissing the value of principles and standards, it presents a vision that a virtuous epidemiologist should cultivate wisdom in making prudential judgments in conditions of uncertainty; fortitude in dealing with powerful politicians and administrators which does not sacrifice truth; temperance and self-restraint in keeping one’s ideological views from compromising one’s scientific credibility; and justice in giving due weight to individual rights and the public interest when doing research and giving advice on public health interventions.

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