There are some kinds of expertise that are defined more by the risks you take than by the skills with which you tackle those risks.
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This often gets conflated with the theory/practice divide but isn't the same. Eg: a really good marksman who lacks the courage to go on the battlefield isn't a "theorist" exactly, but has the wrong balance of risk-taking and skill.
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You want more bravery in a soldier even if you have to give up some marksmanship.
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This is one reason I can't take "ethicist" seriously... it's one of those roles. Real ethicists take risks that can, in the worst case, get them killed, like Aaron Swartz. An academic ethicist who insists on their "expertise" from having studied ethics theories is... 🙄
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It's closer to skin in the game, but that's not the essence of it. It's modeling the fact that recognizing the right thing to do is not as hard as actually doing it.
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Subtweet inspired by the growing cottage industries of "ethicists" of various kinds. AI ethicists, design ethicists, blah blah blah. The diff between grifty posturing in service of ethics theaters, and actual risk-taking is pretty stark.
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You can see if someone is truly an ethicist if they risk their job, bonus, status to do the right thing. (like everyone else)
If as an ethicist you have perfect job security, and are the bosses’ favorite, how much of an ethicist are you really?
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