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On complicity theory
1BlueCross BlueShield Center for Ethics, Public Policy and the Professions, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA. akline@unf.edu
Science and Engineering Ethics
|April 13, 2006
Summary
This paper critiques Michael Davis's Complicity Theory of whistleblowing. It argues the theory fails to explain public support for whistleblowers despite potential corporate harm, strengthening the received view.
Area of Science:
- Business Ethics
- Organizational Behavior
- Philosophy of Technology
Background:
- The received view of whistleblowing, established by Bowie and DeGeorge, faces challenges from Michael Davis's Complicity Theory.
- Davis identified three anomalies: burden, missing harm, and failure, proposing Complicity Theory as an alternative framework.
- Case studies like the Challenger disaster and Ford Pinto are often cited in whistleblowing discussions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically examine Michael Davis's Complicity Theory of whistleblowing.
- To re-evaluate the anomalies presented against the received view of whistleblowing.
- To strengthen the understanding of the received view by contrasting it with Complicity Theory.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis of whistleblowing theories.
- Critique of Michael Davis's Complicity Theory.
- Re-examination of model cases of whistleblowing.
- Comparative analysis between the received view and Complicity Theory.
Main Results:
- The anomalies cited by Davis appear to stem from misunderstandings of the received view or misinterpretations of whistleblowing cases.
- Comparison with Complicity Theory reinforces key aspects of the received view, particularly the necessity of moral justification for whistleblowing.
- Complicity Theory inadequately explains the societal encouragement and protection of whistleblowers, especially when significant corporate harm is possible.
Conclusions:
- The received view of whistleblowing remains robust, with its core tenets clarified through contrast with Complicity Theory.
- Complicity Theory's explanatory gap regarding public support for whistleblowers highlights a critical limitation.
- Further research is needed to reconcile the ethical imperatives of whistleblowing with potential economic consequences for organizations.
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