How does what you have discovered fit in with the ethics of professional inquiry and how does what you have learnt fit into the theoretical ethical framework?
When concerning ethics, the first thing I have become aware of is, as a free lance choreographer my own personal morals and values are hugely important. The reader talk about ethics having origins in the Greek word ethos, which means character, and then goes on the state that it has further roots in moral philosophy. In order for me to have good, strong and fair professional ethics, my 'moral compass' must be strong as I am not attached to any sort of society or organisation, so therefore do not have a code of conduct laid out by anyone but myself. The importance of your own personal ethics are recognised in most situations because however rooted you are in your place of work how you feel and deal with situations affect each individual person. This idea is demonstrated perfectly using the following diagram.
This diagram clearly shows the ripple effect your personal views have on your work, the job/ place you are working and then the audience receiving it.
I developed this idea further by thinking about the fact that personal ethics can be informed by many sources- family values, religion, conscience. As a choreographer I could be asked to work on a project where my own personal views could determine whether I take it or not. A hypothetical situation is I could be asked to work on a piece of dance that is very disrespectful of God and may go against my Christian background. In this situation I would have to decide what was more important to me, my own morals, or the morals of my professional career.
This personal/ professional debate was questioned in reader 5, under case study two, whereby Kevin Carter chose to let a child die because the ethical role and duty of a photographer is to observe and not interfere. From reading about this, I have learnt that I must be very aware in my professional inquiry that there maybe areas of sensitivity that I have to be aware of. In other words, I must be careful when asking questions that I don't make people question too much their own personal ethics to the point they feel uncomfortable. This case study also made me aware of the grey areas in ethics, and led me on to a debate talked about a lot in reader 5 which also can have grey areas; the debate about honesty.
Aristotle believed that virtue is a character trait manifested in habitual action. This idea is then further explained using the example of honesty, and how honestly is not something you can't switch on and off, it is ingrained in your personality. Relating this idea to my field of work, there are points in my career already where my honest personality has been challenged and I have had to lie. I believe I have done this to avoid hurting peoples feelings and to stop potential arguments. In other words for the greater good, a theory
explored by Jeremy Bentham and JS Mill. Utilitarianism is described in the Oxford dictionary as the doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority.* I think this theory is very apparent in the musical theatre/ dance industry in general. People are not always honest, for example "you didn't get that part because you were too tall", when really the reality may be they were a terrible singer! However what good would it do to upset that persons feelings? Aristotle would argue that by lying to the person they are under false pretenses that they are a good singer and it is doing far more damage not telling them than if someone was honest. However I think this example just demonstrates how grey ethics can sometimes be. Table one in the reader shows the three approaches to lying:
* Consequentialist: Could be acceptable for the greater good
* Deontologist: Always wrong
* Virtue Ethicist: Moral behavior and character as important as action
I believe all three of these ideas have a place in my profession. An example of me using consequentialist lying is me changing a dance routine in a show because the person can't execute it properly but also could avoid injury. By telling them about the injury side, but not necessarily focusing on the fact they can't do the move well, I am helping them but not upsetting them.
An example of lying being deontologist is my lying to someone and telling them they have been cast in the show and they haven't. In all situations if someone hasn't been cast I should never tell them that they have.
Finally an example of virtue ethicist is me giving someone critical feedback after an audition and even suggesting I help them on areas they are struggling with. In doing this I am being honest about their weaknesses but I am offering to help as my personality is very conscientious.
The debate between the law vs morals is another area I found I could relate to my field of work. Platos theory that ethics draws upon a sense of perception is an interesting idea. In other words, a rule which might not be acceptable in one profession is perfectly acceptable in another. A good example of this is ballet and ballet teachers. Over the years ballet teachers have had the reputation of being incredibly strict, and even using harsh methods of teaching and physical means to make students do what they require. However, against the law of today, teachers are no longer allowed to touch students, unless it is really necessary and are certainly not allowed to hurt them. Do ballet teachers today go against a tradition that has produced excellent ballet dancers in the past, or do they have to go with the new set of rules of today? This grey area is something that as a choreographer I could come up against. The methods of teaching dancers are different to that of many other teachers, and I must always be careful that while I want the best possible outcomes for my students, I mustn't do anything that could affect my career and get me into trouble.
This theory nicely links on to table 2; professional types. This table shows the distinction between different professions and for me raises the question as to whether you are better qualified for your job through experience or qualifications. This is something as dance teachers is regularly debated. Throughout November I am covering classes at Chichester University even though I don't have a P.G.C.E or dance teaching qualifications. However the table demonstrates that what professionals have (whatever the type (consulting, scholarly or professional)) is the ability to 'profess' and know better than their clients and therefore claim exclusive right to practice. So if I take this literally then I have every right to teach as my experience means I know more than the students I am teaching.
The final area that I found I could fit in with my professional inquiry is that of negotiation. The diagram below is a good way to show how personal ethics, professional code and employer expectation should all try and work together in order to create a good working environment.
This is something that is very important as a choreographer as quite often you work as part of a creative team all with different visions and ideas, and you have to learn to somehow work all together. In addition to this, you also have to learn to negotiate with the students in the room. This is something I have learnt a lot about working at Chickenshed Theatre. Because my dance background has always been very regimented and technical I was taught that there was almost a right and wrong way to dance. However by working at Chickenshed I have learnt that this is not the case, and therefore I have had to completely later my perspective. I have altered my way of teaching, approaching and choreographing and have negotiated with them to find a way to access their style of dance which works for me. This section in the reader really prompted me to realise and also made me see that negotiation in any form of work is a vital ethical idea to work by. Non negotiation is the reason for the breakdown of friendships,companies and even starts wars. By relating it to my field of work I am making it accessible for me. Bringing everything I have learnt together, ethics is a very complex topic. There are a lot of theories explored around it and yet there is not a right or a wrong answer. However, with the nature of this course this way of debating fits perfectly as drawing specific conclusions are not the aim, but rather discovering finding and learning are.
Developing the ideas in reader 5 and then relating them to myself as a choreographer have allowed me to make sense of certain situations that have happened to me in the past and also be aware of things that may happen in the future. I found especially the section on honesty was very interesting as there have been times where I haven't known whether I'm doing the right thing, but by reading further into the topic I can see that I am only doing the right thing in some people's eyes and not in others. This I think will help me be less worried in the future and more confident in my decisions.
In terms of my professional inquiry and how I use what I have discovered, I can see that when writing my proposal there is a lot more factors to think about that I first thought. For example people's own personal views and backgrounds must be taken into consideration as they have a big effect on their professional career. I must be careful when asking questions that I don't put anyone in an uncomfortable position. This is something I hadn't thought about until I began this topic. Another area is that of qualification. The debate about experience vs qualifications when teaching was something I was keen to debate. However, from looking at table 2 in the reader and making so much sense of it, I am not sure I am so bothered by it. I still want to investigate the area but maybe not put so much focus on it.
Finally I have learnt that so many of the ethics I have researched and related to can be put into any job or situation. The following four especially stood out to me as universal:
* The idea that your personal ethics greatly affect your professional ones
* Negotiation is the key to making most places of work/ relationships work
* Honestly is something that should be used as frequently as possible but in the right context
* The law/ rules can sometimes compromise/ question your ethics and morals
I feel that I now need to re look at my inquiry with this new perspective and I will probably find things have slightly altered!
*http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/utilitarianism
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