Philosophical Perspectives on Trustworthiness and Open-mindedness as Professional Virtues for the Practice of Nursing: Implications for he Moral Education of Nurses

wish to take has a reasonable chance of reducing our vulnerability. So if I am concerned
about a particular risk of harm and I believe that risk to be a type 1 risk (as described
above) I might be more tempted to act to protect myself than if it were a type 3 risk. The
second, and more important, purpose is to illustrate both the scope and the limitations of
our individual and/or institutional interventions in any attempt to reduce or minimise
our vulnerability.

The categorisation has only limited application for it will be immediately apparent that
each of the three types of risks of harm identified above are likely to be influenced by
aspects of one or both of the other two. In addition, the role of luck, judgement, and
trust will have a significant effect. So while I may judge it reasonable to walk on the
pavement in order to reduce my vulnerability, when the lorry sheds its load it may well
be a matter of luck that I remain unharmed (or of ill luck if I am harmed). But by
continuing to believe that walking on the pavement will, on the whole, reduce my
vulnerability I am placing my trust in a number of institutions including those that
regulate the use of motor vehicles, and this trust is a matter of judgement. The
judgement that I should continue to place my trust in these institutions is reinforced
daily by my experience that most vehicles do seem to be maintained in a roadworthy
condition and that most motorists drive in ‘socially responsible ways’. There may come
a time when I begin to believe that a significant number of motor vehicles are not being
maintained, or that many drivers are flouting the general rule that the pavement is for
pedestrians. Should this happen I would need to revise my judgement about the
protective effect of walking on the pavement because my trust in the social and political
institutions will have been compromised.

... BUT SOME PEOPLE ARE MORE VULNERABLE THAN OTHERS

I have noted earlier that when we are asleep, when we are distracted, when we are
exhausted, and when we are physically incapacitated we are particularly vulnerable but
that this is a normal part of our general everyday vulnerability. However, any of these
examples has the potential to become debilitating and as such would lead us to become
vulnerable in ways that are beyond our normal everyday vulnerability. People
debilitated in these ways are more-than-ordinarily vulnerable. This notion of being
more-than-ordinarily vulnerable is to be distinguished from being more vulnerable as
part of our ordinary everyday vulnerability.

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