Ethics. It’s a big
term, but what exactly does it mean?
Ethics are standards that regulate right and wrong conduct (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Ethics are different from morals &
laws. Ethics are formal rules of
conduct, typically objectively (meaning without bias, without a personal
motivation/personal gain) reached, and meant to apply generally to a variety of
different situations.
Morals, on the other
hand, are often personal, based on subjective (often biased), culturally specific
rules or guidelines. For example, there
are different cultural ideals out there in regards to what is considered animal
abuse. In American culture we believe it
is morally wrong to eat dogs as it is considered a form of animal abuse. In some cultures it is perfectly acceptable
and normal to eat dogs and not viewed as animal abuse. There are other cultures, however, that
believe that dogs are vermin and can be treated as such, and therefore any
treatment of dogs is considered neither abuse nor kindness.
Laws are also formal
rules of conduct, but they are political in nature, meaning that a small
group/party came up with the rules that may or may not be agreed upon by
others, and maintained by a judiciary force (police, judges, lawyers, etc.). Laws also vary by culture and within culture,
as well. For example, in United States,
there are different traffic laws depending on which state you are in. In Missouri it is illegal to wait in the
middle of an intersection to turn left, whereas in Illinois it is legal as long
as you have a solid green or yellow light while your car is stopped in that
intersection.
To demonstrate the
differences among, morals, laws, and ethics, let’s do a quick exercise. Based on the image below (Figure 1), what
would be the moral, lawful, and ethical responses to this image?
 |
| Figure 1: Topless woman in NYC (Image Source: RYOT.org) |
There are several
different moral, lawful, and ethical responses to this image, but I am going to
pick one for each. A moral response to
this image may be that nudity is bad based on religious grounds. A lawful response may be that it is illegal
for a woman to go topless in public. But
an ethical response, again being the objective & formal rules, to a woman
going topless may be that it should be up to each individual to decide how they
wish to present his or herself and his or her body in public-be it clothed or
unclothed.
Anthropological ethics are a necessary and integral part of
anthropology and anthropological research for a variety of reasons.
Today’s blog post is dedicated to the
discussion of anthropological ethics as they affect and relate to all
four
subfields of anthropology.
This post
will explore the origins & purpose of anthropological ethics, the top three
ethical responsibilities that apply to all anthropologists-
regardless of subdiscipline, and the sources of anthropological
ethics for each subdiscipline.
The origins of anthropological ethics can be attributed to
what anthropology is: the holistic study
of human beings from both a cultural and biological perspective. Because anthropology is the study of people
it can and unfortunately has been utilized for inexcusable purposes. Early anthropologists, like many scholars in
a variety of social and hard science disciplines, utilized anthropology for
either their own personal or national gains.
During World War II European archaeologists were tasked with
legitimizing the goals of the Nazi regime.
Over a century ago American cultural anthropologists were tasked with
learning about American Indian cultures and languages in order to learn how
best the US government could manipulate these groups. And physical anthropologists throughout the
1700-1800s utilized biometric analyses (measurements of the body) to identify
and characterize body parts & proportions that could be used “to predict”
deviance, but they only recognized features that they believed were consistent
with minorities as being evidence of deviance.
These anthropologists were not necessarily bad people, but they were
influenced by the dominant perceptions and their own cultural values, which
drove them to conduct and produce prejudicial research. Therefore, anthropology, like many
disciplines, has ethical standards in part to avoid making the same mistakes
and continue poorly developed research methods that were commonplace in the
past.
Anthropological ethics, however, are more than a fail-safe
to make up for past transgressions. They are also present as they aid in guiding and
enhancing research agendas. The
ethics that exist for all anthropological pursuits actually
build in guidelines and responsibilities of anthropologists that if used
properly provide for more robust research and results. So while many anthropology students and some
anthropologists will bemoan the ethical requirements of their subdiscipline
these ethics are very useful and beneficial.
So what are some of the ethical responsibilities that are
applicable to all four subdisciplines of anthropology?
I have identified three ethical
responsibilities that apply to all the subfields.
Please note that these three may be different
from those identified by other organizations or individuals.
These three were collected from the
American
Association of Anthropology website and actually combine several of the top
ten anthropological ethics that the organization identifies.
Anthropological
Ethical Responsibility #1: DO NO HARM!
Every anthropologist must consider the impacts of one’s
research, both positive and negative, and how each can affect the group(s)
under study. The positive impacts are
not necessarily a primary concern, but it is the negative, particularly the
harmful consequences to an individual’s and/or culture’s dignity, body, and
property, that must not only be considered but avoided at all costs. Anthropologists have to take care considering
not just the obvious and immediately negative outcomes but any latent,
unexpected effects that may occur due to or through the course of the
study.
Sometimes, anthropologists will take an advocacy approach to
their research and/or research goals. Generally
the advocacy approach is a newer and vogue direction that appeals to many anthropologist
& anthropological studies. Advocacy
is a noble goal, but it still falls within the do no harm responsibility
because anthropologists must remember that the advocacy must be on the group’s/groups’
terms. Although the anthropologist(s)
may believe that he/she/they know best it is ultimately the decision of the
group/groups in regards to what they feel they want and/or need when it comes
to advocacy decisions.
Anthropological
Ethical Responsibility #2: ACQUIRE INFORMED CONSENT & PROPER PERMISSIONS!
Prior to conducting research anthropologists must ensure
they have received both informed consent and proper permissions. To get both of these trust is key, and the
anthropologist must be open and honest with all parties in order to receive
both informed consent and proper permissions.
Informed consent is the agreement sought by scholars from community
members to take part in research (Gezon & Kottak). This is typically acquired by
the individual(s) being studied or worked with through the anthropological
research. Proper permissions are applied
beyond the individuals and include receiving permission to conduct the research
from governments/governmental organizations and local scholars. Anthropologists may be required to receive
permission from the national and/or local governments prior to beginning
research for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to guaranteeing
the safety of anthropologist(s) and community members, allowing foreigners
(e.g. the anthropologist[s]) to legally enter the country (typically through
appropriate visas), etc. And local
scholars need to be informed of the research in order to not replicate studies
that were already completed and/or facilitate collaborations between local and
nonlocal scholars, which often times leads to enriched research.
Anthropological
Ethical Responsibility #3: ACCESSIBILITY & RECIPROCITY!
All anthropologists are expected and required to make their
research results accessible, not just to peers but to the public and especially
the group(s) involved in research (be it the groups that were directly studied
or worked with in the course of the research or those who are closely related
to the groups studied or worked with).
Anthropologists meet this goal by completing a variety of tasks,
including presenting at conferences, publishing in peer-reviewed journals (in
order to ensure value-free and objective research), speaking at public
lectures, and more. Anthropologists must
also make sure that the research results are made available to the groups most
likely to be affected by the results, which is completed by publishing and/or
presenting in the host country and in their preferred language.
Reciprocity is related to the point made under the second
ethical responsibility, and this simply means that whenever and wherever
possible that anthropologists must include local colleagues and individuals in the
research and work being completed. This
establishes collaborative relationships with local scholars and local groups, which
takes the shape as sharing in authorship in publications and disseminating
research in appropriate ways.
It is important to note that ethical responsibilities noted
herein are by no means exhaustive.
There
are several more ethical responsibilities that are applicable to all anthropologists,
regardless of subdiscipline, but there are several that pertain only to
specific subdisciplines.
Each
subdiscipline has a standard international, as well as several national and
regional, organizations that preside over and maintain the standards of the subdiscipline.
The
American
Anthropological Association is the overarching organization that focuses on
all four subfields, but other organizations, such as the
Society for American Archaeology,
Archaeological Institute of America,
American Association of Physical Anthropology,
Canadian Association of Physical
Anthropologists, and the
Society
for Linguistic Anthropology (to name just a few), focus on the standards
and guidelines for specific subdisciplines.
These organizations are also responsible for revising and updating
ethical standards are necessary and as the political and social climate of the
world changes.
As such, anthropological
ethics are continually changing in order to meet the needs of all groups around
the globe, and all anthropologists working within the discipline.
Works Cited
Gezon & Kottak. 2012. Cultural Anthropology. McGraw-Hill
