Ethics and technical communication: a case for foundational approaches

Abstract

The study of ethics is important for technical communication students and professionals because as workers and as citizens they confront ethical dilemmas and must act. The article describes and contrasts several foundational and nonfoundational ethical approaches. Analyzing two well known ethics cases from the perspective of the different approaches, it is argued that although foundational approaches are limited, they provide better insights than do nonfoundational approaches. Finally, the article describes a problem solving technique, based on foundational approaches and communicative ethics, that can be used by technical communication students and professionals to analyze ethical dilemmas.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
1997-01-01
DOI
10.1109/47.650006
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (11)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 11 →
  1. Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

References (42) · 12 in this index

  1. Re-Thinking Theory A Critique of Contemporary Literary Theory and an Alternative Account
  2. 10.2307/378062
  3. Against Postmodernism A Marxist Critique
  4. developing a postmodern ethics of rhetoric and composition
    Defining the New Rhetorics
  5. Just Gaming
Show all 42 →
  1. The Postmodern Condition A Report on Knowledge
  2. rhetoric and community: the problem of the one and the many
    Defining the New Rhetorics
  3. College English
  4. cognitive rhetoric: inquiry into the art of inquiry
    Defining the New Rhetorics
  5. A Teacher s Introduction to Deconstruction
  6. Technical Communication Quarterly
  7. kairos: a neglected concept in classical rhetoric
    Rhetoric and Praxis The Contribution of Classical Rhetoric to Practical Reasoning
  8. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  9. Technical Communication Situations and Strategies
  10. Technical Writing A Reader-Centered Approach
  11. Technical Writing
  12. teaching professional writing as social praxis
    J Adv Comp
  13. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  14. poststructuralism, semiotics, and social-epistemic rhetoric: converging agendas
    Defining the New Rhetorics
  15. the q' question
    South Atlantic Quart  
  16. from kantianism to contextualism: the rise and fall of the paradigm theory in bioethics
    Applied Ethics A Reader
  17. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  18. Fragments of Rationality Postmodernity and the Subject of Composition
  19. 10.4324/9780203359327
  20. 10.2307/378336
  21. political-ethical implications of defining technical communication as a practice
    J Adv Composition
  22. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  23. The Truth about Postmodernism
  24. Technical Communication Quarterly
  25. 10.1109/IPCC.1992.673061
  26. Technical Communication Quarterly
  27. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  28. 10.1007/BF01686446
  29. 10.1353/log.2002.0011
  30. introduction
    Applied Ethics A Reader
  31. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  32. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  33. 10.2307/3560542
  34. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  35. The Communicative Ethics Controversy
  36. scientific knowledge, discourse ethics, and consensus formation in the public domain
    Applied Ethics A Reader
  37. afterword: communicative ethics and contemporary controversies in practical philosophy
    The Communicative Ethics Controversy