Ethics and Policy

The relation between ethics and policy is seldom discussed as such, but is important and complex. Discussion appropriately begins with reflection on the origins of the concept of policy, which (as naming a phenomenon distinct from law, rule, plan, design, and principle) did not become prominent in public affairs until the mid-twentieth century. As distinctive features of the lifeworld, policies can be described as science-based programs for action that guide decision-making in service to the effective achievement of clearly designated outcomes. More than laws or other related phenomena, policies are dependent on scientific input. Insofar as such science-based decisions have come to play an enlarged role in human affairs, questions of ethics (as guidelines for human conduct) have naturally arisen in two respects. One respect focuses on articulating ethical guidelines for policy work, another on the construction of policies to promote ethical research and practice.