Ethics as Discursive Potential

Abstract

Therapeutic practice must be, above all, ethical. And, in most cases, what is designated as ethical is equated with what is legal and just. But what counts as ethics in a world of multiplicity, difference, and complexity? Shifting from the modernist world of certainty (where ethics codes are created) to a relational sensibility where complexity and uncertainty serve as guideposts, we also must release our grasp on the idea of a universal, decontextualised notion of ethics. A relational ethic directs our attention to how we might create opportunities for different conversations, conversations built on curiosity where we can search for local coherence. With an ethic of discursive potential, we can attempt to coordinate multiple moral orders and imagine a future that is relationally sensitive. We can harness the potential of coordinating differences to move beyond simple solutions, universal resolutions, and our desire to eliminate difference once and for all. In this article, I argue that an ethic of discursive potential sensitises us to the contextual and relational nuances of daily life and thereby avoids decontextualised legalised ethical judgments.