The Good of Social Work
I was in University in 1984, when I came across an article by Hugo Meynell titled the "Good of Social Work".
Hugo Anthony Meynell (1936–2021) was an English-born Canadian philosopher best known for his work in philosophy of religion, epistemology, and the social sciences, and for describing himself as a “Christian rationalist” in the tradition of Thomas Aquinas and Bernard Lonergan.
Meynell argues that the “good” of social work can be established on objective philosophical grounds — not merely as something “good” relative to a particular class, ideology, or political position, but good in an absolute sense. He contends that the core purpose of social work is to promote “effective freedom” in clients (the capacity to attend to one’s circumstances, deliberate, decide, and act for oneself), and that this constitutes a genuinely and objectively valuable enterprise, defensible against both moral relativism and ideological attack.
Bernard Lonergan (1904–1984), was a Canadian Jesuit philosopher and theologian. Meynell was one of Lonergan’s most prominent interpreters in the English-speaking world, and the concept of “effective freedom” at the heart of this article is drawn directly from Lonergan’s work, particularly his major text Insight: A Study of Human Understanding (1957).
The Four Transcendental Operations
For Lonergan, authentic human functioning involves four interconnected cognitive and moral operations: being attentive (to experience and data), being intelligent (grasping patterns and forming insights), being reasonable (weighing evidence and making sound judgments), and being responsible (choosing and acting on what one has judged to be true and good). When a person is able to carry out these operations without distortion — whether from psychological damage, social oppression, ignorance, or material deprivation — they possess what Lonergan called effective freedom.
Being new to university life and having a newfound interest in psychology, this article presented a compelling question for me to consider: what was the role of a social worker?
The counter point to the “Good” of Social Work, was that Social Workers were considered “agents of social control”.
There was a range of Clinical areas one could work in as a Social Worker and in a range of settings. The consistent variable is that the Social Worker would be at the interface between a “client”, and a “system”, be it Government, employer or Professional Health Care providers.
I think one of the first things I realized when in my early and initial interactions with GP’s and Psychiatrists, was the clear and powerful hierarchy that existed. It took a benign form, with the use of the term, “Gatekeeper”. GP’s were the main gatekeepers; to be clear, the only gatekeeper, if there were specific areas of expertise or resources that you needed access to (including pharmaceuticals). I did have colleagues that were working in the Child Protection Field, and this was a clear example of social control, when the main function was to remove a child from a family. The delicate balance there is one of parents hopefully knowing their child better than anyone, yet having their own personal challenges that would compromise their functioning as parents.
It was not until I became a parent that I learned how pivotal that role is in our development. I have now adopted the phrase that being a parent and a grandparent, is the most profound teacher one could have in terms of personal learning.
Another distinction that arose when I was in my first year of University, was the idea of being a direct source of clinical knowledge and support to an individual, group, or family. I had a colleague that I remember having ongoing discussions with and she was drawn to Psychology as a way to help people and she saw Social Work as simply a referral source, another Gatekeeper. I considered this but it was never my intention to simplify my potential role to that of gatekeeper or referral agent. Those functions happened, but I focused myself on a clinical, and historical understanding of how people functioned, and what was optimal. I was and continue to be fond of the idea that Social Workers were in the business of working themselves out of a job. So, it had to do with empowerment and self determination in the context of huge social pressures and conditions that we all lived with.
I want to honour all the Psychiatrists and Doctors I worked with and learned from as this on the job training as a Social Worker was integral to the knowledge base I now have access to. In terms of the gatekeeping function, I would now say that we need multiple pathways to access knowledge and resources to better ourselves.
In conclusion, I do see Social Work as good and necessary work in this world. And effective freedom has never been more important. We must continue to work to that end for each person.
