About this video

• Video Title: Ellin Part III
• Channel: Marco Bruno
• Speakers: Marco Bruno
• Duration: 00:13:10

Overview

This video lecture discusses Part III of Ellen's article, focusing on "veracity and the professional client relationship." It sets the context for the subsequent arguments in Part IV, examining the moral implications of lying versus deception and introducing different models of professional-client relationships, particularly contrasting Ellen's approach with Bales' models.

Key takeaways

• Veracity and Professional Relationships: Part III of Ellen's article establishes the context for his argument by discussing veracity (truth-telling) within the professional-client relationship, which involves an examination of different models of this relationship.
• Lying vs. Deception: Ellen acknowledges that both lying and deception are morally wrong for similar reasons, but argues that lying is morally worse than deception. This distinction is crucial for his overall argument.
• False Dichotomy: A central critique of Ellen's argument is his reliance on a "false dichotomy," suggesting that professionals only have a choice between lying or deception, which the speaker argues is an oversimplification.
• Professional vs. Ordinary Morality: The lecture touches upon Ellen's assertion that professional ethics differ from "ordinary morality" and his attempt to define "special professional morality."
• Priority vs. Parallel View: Ellen rejects the "priority view" (where professional ethics are a special case of ordinary morality) and adopts the "parallel view" (where professional ethics are distinct from ordinary morality).
• Models of Professional-Client Relationships: The video compares Ellen's five models of professional-client relationships with Bales' models. The first three models align, but Ellen introduces an "exploitation model" and a concept of a "fiduciary model" that differs from Bales' and contains a perceived paradox.
• Fiduciary Model Paradox: Ellen claims a paradox exists within the fiduciary model: it rests on trust, yet he suggests it encourages deception. The speaker contends this statement is false from Bales' perspective.
• Resolving the Paradox: Ellen proposes a way to resolve this paradox, which involves widening the moral gap between lying and deception, making deception permissible while lying remains forbidden.