In Response to Patricia McGrath Morris’s “Reinterpreting Abraham Flexner’s Speech, ‘Is Social Work a Profession?’: Its Meaning and Influence on the Field’s Early Professional Development”

Patricia McGrath Morris presents an interesting reinterpretation of parts of Abraham Flexner's 1915 speech in her Social Service Review article, "Reinterpreting Abraham Flexner's Speech, 'Is Social Work a Profession'?: Its Meaning & Influence on the Field's Early Professional Development" (2008). Her analysis reveals that both Flexner's contemporaries & recent commentators correctly understand the main thrust of his assessment of social work-namely, that, at least in 1915, social work did not qualify as a profession. Morris also argues that both critics & supporters of Flexner misunderstand the reasoning on which he rests his case; they grant his speech unfounded mythic status & present delusional appraisals of his influence on the profession. However, I think that although Flexner's terminology is occasionally ambiguous, social workers tend to draw mainly accurate inferences from his speech. I will make my case by discussing three of six criteria (1, 3 & 4) that Flexner believes make for a profession. In my discussion of criteria 1, 3, & 4, I will argue, in spite of Morris's contentions to the contrary, that social workers have accurately understood Flexner's pronouncements on the social work profession. Adapted from the source document.