Charity No
313712
Ethical Statement
The Society aims to promote the Critical Philosophy through education and scholarship in a manner consistent with our stated ethical values and principles. This general Statement takes as given our statutory duties as a charity, but where we do have discretion the Statement demonstrates our commitment to ethics in actual practice and provides a general guide or framework for action and decision-making.This Statement is supplemented by separate detailed policy statements on our main activities and projects. These separate statements are regularly monitored and reviewed and subject to updating from time to time in the light of experience.
We identify three main interlinked guiding principles which are informed by our core values:
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The principle of non-maleficence (‘Above all, do no harm’)
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The principle of respect for persons, including self-respect (ie consideration for an individual’s autonomy, dignity, rights and capacities)
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The principle of justice (striving to be objective and fair yet compassionate at all times and to carefully consider all the interests of the persons involved in decisions)
Our core values we feel are humanitarian and are best reflected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 1, that
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience, and should act towards one and other in a spirit of brotherhood.
In principle, the Society values people of any creed, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and ethnicity, country/nation and educational background.
We recognise there are limits, and dangers, to ethical codes and rules, and abstract principles. We emphasise practical ethics in everyday life. We accept that in reality we invariably have to deal with ethical dilemmas, ambiguities and uncertainties, and conflicts of interest and values which may sometimes be resolved through sustained reflection, and in some cases only through compromise after due consultation, and negotiation.
We are mindful that in the modern world we are beset with complex technology and institutions, and that the capacity for harm is now on an unprecedented scale. Good intentions are not enough. Actions can often lead to long-range and harmful unpredicted consequences.
We also think that individual good judgement is central to practical ethics and that while personal integrity is necessary it is often insufficient; that ethical practice and training in appropriate skills may be of help to individuals who wish to lead ethical lives.
Many of the Socratic Dialogues we hold in the UK or participate in elsewhere are meant to enable people to engage in structured discussions on ethical issues and to learn from them, ourselves included. We hope this will encourage and support individual moral development using the powers of reason and compassion. Our hope also is that this will encourage active and responsible citizenship in the independent and critical spirit of Socrates himself, and cautious individual engagement with ethical and social issues on local, national and international levels.
The various educational and philosophical tasks which our work involves carry no political aims and serve no political party, nor are we tied to any religious creed.
Agreed by Trustees at Meeting on 28.01.06,