Review Of "Ethics And Excuses: The Crisis In Professional Responsibility" By B. Mcdowell

Document Type

Book Review

Publication Date

2-1-2001

Published In

Choice

Abstract

There is no excuse to read this book, but plenty of justification to do so, especially for students, teachers, and practitioners of law. McDowell (emer., Washburn Univ. School of Law) laments both the cavalier way in which we accept excuses as if they were justifications and the corrosive acid of free market thinking and practice on professional ethics. Building on distinctions developed by J.L. Austin ("A Plea for Excuses" in his Philosophical Papers, 3d ed., 1979), McDowell catalogs various excuses professionals, especially lawyers, use to explain (and explain away) misconduct. His aim is to show how giving and accepting excuses does--and ideally should--work at a practical level. Writing in a clear, concise, accessible manner, McDowell makes clear his own moral passion for a professional ethics that goes beyond mere legality. Yet he also shows how difficult this is in a world obsessed with market efficiency. This reviewer believes that McDowell underemphasizes the need for efficient markets to have candid and honest participants, especially when transactions are iterated. But McDowell's general survey of the place excuses do and should play in the lives of professionals is highly recommended for any professional school library, especially those in law.

Comments

This work is freely available courtesy of Choice Reviews. The review has been reproduced in full in the abstract field.

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