Summers Craig
Ethics Behav. 1992;2(4):287-310. doi: 10.1207/s15327019eb0204_5.
A case study is presented of the American Psychological Association (APA), as a health care organization that promotes human welfare. APA includes policies on human welfare in its Ethical Principles of Psychologists and even lists the advancement of psychology "as a means of promoting human welfare" on its letterhead. Nevertheless, APA has other policies and activities based on military and weapons work that appear to conflict with its promotion of human welfare. Although military work in and of itself may not necessarily be problematic, work that contributes to people purposely being harmed or killed should be squared with the association's ethical guidelines. The results presented here show that this may not be the case: There currently appears to be little justification in the Ethical Principles for work intended to harm people. APA's active lobbying, research, and development for the military are documented here, in relation to an analysis of the Ethical Principles. APA's uncritical support for Operation Desert Storm is examined specifically, with regard to weapons technology and therapeutic treatment of U.S. soldiers on the battlefield. This one-sided support for victims of the war is not in keeping with a Hippocratic health care ethic to treat patients needing care, and to do so with neutrality and impartiality. Similarities to a historical example of nationalistic mental health ethics are discussed, with a review of the development of the German Institute for Psychological Research and Psychotherapy and of the German Society for Psychology in the Nazi wartime effort and the Holocaust. The results here show similar deficiencies in APA's ethical standards, not the least of which is that the code applies to individual members but not to APA policies, committees, or activities. This article concludes with suggested criteria for the Ethical Principles that would at least (a) recognize the ambiguities in systematically developing and using weapons to hurt people and (b) provide an initial rationale of potential justifications.
本文呈现了美国心理学会(APA)的一个案例研究,该学会作为一个促进人类福祉的医疗保健组织。APA在其《心理学家伦理原则》中纳入了有关人类福祉的政策,甚至在其信笺抬头将心理学的进步列为“促进人类福祉的一种手段”。然而,APA还有基于军事和武器工作的其他政策及活动,这些似乎与它对人类福祉的促进相冲突。尽管军事工作本身不一定有问题,但导致人们被蓄意伤害或杀害的工作应该与该协会的道德准则相契合。此处呈现的结果表明情况可能并非如此:目前在伦理原则中,针对旨在伤害他人的工作似乎几乎没有正当理由。本文记录了APA针对军事方面的积极游说、研究与开发,并结合对伦理原则的分析。具体审视了APA对沙漠风暴行动不加批判的支持,涉及武器技术以及对战地美国士兵的治疗。这种对战争受害者的片面支持不符合希波克拉底医疗伦理,即治疗需要护理的患者,并以中立和公正的态度进行治疗。文中讨论了与民族主义心理健康伦理的一个历史例子的相似之处,回顾了纳粹战时努力和大屠杀期间德国心理研究与心理治疗研究所及德国心理学会的发展情况。此处结果显示APA伦理标准存在类似缺陷,其中最主要的是该准则适用于个体成员,而非APA的政策、委员会或活动。本文最后提出了伦理原则的建议标准,这些标准至少应(a)认识到在系统开发和使用武器伤害他人方面存在的模糊性,以及(b)提供潜在正当理由的初步依据。