commentary C D A J O U R N A L , V O L 4 8 , Nº 9
Ethics and Law: ‘Truth’ and ‘Trust’ in a 21st Century Practice Nick F. Forooghi, JD, Esq.
AUTHOR Nick F. Forooghi, JD, Esq. , is a practicing attorney and an educator. He is the executive associate dean at Lincoln Law School in San Jose, Calif., and an assistant professor of professionalism and ethics at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: None reported.
W
hat is the “truth?” I have to take you through a philosophical discussion before we relate this article more directly to the dental profession. But trust me — no pun intended — you will be better for taking the trouble and following me on this short journey. As professionals in any field, medical, dental, legal and others granted the privilege of a license to practice, we all have a fiduciary duty to the people we serve. We will revisit the implications and meaning of having a fiduciary duty, but it helps first to discuss a more fundamental word — truth. We can hardly find any philosophical work in the study of ethics without a discussion of what truth is and how it relates to, or inspires, other important ethical concepts. I know some who read this commentary may perceive what I write to be a “statement of the obvious.” That is exactly the point. We take what is obvious for granted at our own peril. Truth as a concept worthy of discussion has been a core subject in philosophy for thousands of years. Ethics is often defined as “the systematic study of right and wrong.” Truth being a central topic of philosophy and so closely at the center of the study of ethics, also has a long history of systematic scholarly examination.
Our shared understanding of the word truth today has a major practical purpose in allowing each of us to navigate our daily lives both personally and in relation to other members in our society. This is the very purpose of a vast area of work referred to as “applied ethics,” which is concerned with the practical use of moral concepts in the real world. Much in ethics and various philosophical ideas about ethics are organized around the definition of key concepts like truth, honesty and trust. Members of any society must have a relatively stable and common understanding of the meaning of these key concepts if we are to have a useful and practical application of laws and ethical codes in a given period of time. Concepts of morality and ethics evolve over time. Therefore, we have to discuss any constancy of ethical and moral concepts based on the period in which they are expressed. This in itself is a great area of examination and debate. Even then we have a need for a dedicated law professional (attorneys) to interpret the laws in countless practical applications (case-by-case application of laws). There are several current theories of truth in philosophy. Our contemporary understanding of “truth” is closely aligned with the “correspondence theory of truth,” the idea that “what we believe or say is true if it corresponds to the way things actually are — to the facts.”1 SEP TEMBER 2 0 2 0 431
