Actions Needed to Imbed Social Work’s Ethical Principles into the Undivided Whole Worldview of Interconnected Webs of Relationships

Abstract

Pre-20th century Western science emerged out of a divided whole worldview embedded with colonizing elements of self-determination and solidarity that still persist in social work practice. This view links to ancient atomism and ontological beliefs that all things exist independently in space and time. Together, sums of independent parts equal the whole. Social work’s 19th century origins were influenced by the dominance of Western science. Quantum sciences in the 20th century have shown the divided whole view to falsely rely on analytical summing of independent parts. Even transformations to whole person perspectives and interdependent collaboration have yet to see social work fully transition to an undivided whole worldview. Evidence of boundaries still to be pushed are tracked through the profession’s progressive Ethical Principles transformations in the 20th and 21st centuries. These transformation pushes are significant but remain insufficient in shrinking the presence of colonizing elements in science from social work practice. As the second quarter of the 21st century nears, The People’s Charter for an Eco-Social World founded on the prefix principle of ‘co-and its four priorities is a significant nudge toward more practice actions that will remove the dominance of these colonizing elements from social work principles and practices.