Was kann Ethik in der Suchtarbeit leisten

Starting from a case description about the professional treatment of addiction, we will introduce step by step into modern ethics in an analytical way. First, spontaneous reactions to a case and its possible justifications will be described. Then the central methodical steps of a scientific ethical investigation will be unfolded in detail. Morals and ethics are differentiated, then descriptive and prescriptive sentences. Then the naturalistic fallacy and the two main directions of normative ethics, deontological and teleological ethics, will be explained. Finally the claim for universalizability will be unfolded. This includes the exemplary discussion of main subjects of moral concepts of man (the utilitarian as well as I. Kant's and the christian). The various aspects are focussed in the steps of an ethical theory of decision-making under risk. Moreover, central problems of current addiction treatment are discussed in a systematic part: the relationship between market and ethics in the addiction treatment; the principle of ‘nonmaleficience’ and the problem of ‘self-injury’. Finally, protection of people who are not yet or no longer able to fully exercise autonomy is explicitly noted. The aim of the considerations is to reflect the problems of professional addiction work ethically in a precise way.