Why Study Ethics

0:01 welcome to a grown-up conversation about ethics during our time together I want to explore why studying ethics is important and how it can change your life I'm Katherine bear the founder and CEO of Ethics game a company that provides learning tools for people who want to learn more about ethics and ethical decisionmaking now when I tell people that I have spent my entire professional life teaching ethics I get a quizzical look huh what here's what people say I learned everything I needed

0:30 to know by kindergarten what my parents taught me is good enough I just know the right thing to do and my personal favorite some people are good some are bad and that's all we need to know about ethics really did you learn how to forgive without condoning the action did you learn how to hold a friend accountable

1:01 how to put together an ethical bid a request for proposal how to meet the expectations of Wall Street and Main Street when to speak up in the face of hatred or just plain meanness or how to recognize your own ethical blind spots if not then you're ready for a conversation about ethics for grownup now we may not all have the same answers about what is ethical in any given situation but just because we have different opinions does it mean that our

1:31 world is going to hell in a hand basket or that we've given people license to lie cheat or steal or more importantly that we can just ignore ethics altogether the value of ethics for grown-ups is that it helps each of us answer the core question who are you studying ethics can help you answer that question and change your life as we begin to explore our ethical identity the question has two sides what is required to be considered ethical in

2:02 our community whether with our family and friends our work or our profession and secondly what kind of a person do we want to be what beliefs and behaviors will support us in becoming ethically mature as you study ethics learning how to translate your core values into behaviors you will be on the path to ethical maturity as you identify what is really important to you you find out what gives gives your life meaning and

2:32 purpose and as you challenge your beliefs what is really true you'll learn more about yourself and others by considering what's important to others you'll be able to talk with them about their core values and finally you'll be equipping yourself to make important contributions to your community now to be ethically mature we have to make friends with two sides of our ethical self our best self knows what is important and chooses to act from those values in order to help

3:03 create a place where all can Thrive and flourish as our worst self becomes afraid and greedy we give in to our blind spots and temptations our worst self comes out when we see the world as a hostile place where we have to grab what we think is ours before someone else gets our stuffed or destroys us at this point someone will say I hear what you're saying but don't we all really know the right thing to do can't

3:31 we just do it well my question back is if we all know the right thing to do why are there so many answers the reason it depends it depends on the context the study of Applied ethics practical ethics can help you sort through all of the different virtues and ethical conversations to determine what is the most ethical course of action in your particular situation as I reviewed 5,000 years of conversations about ethics during my first years as a professor I found that

4:02 every person who wrote about ethics had two important conversations that helped us to find how to be ethical the first is the conversation between the individual and the community what beliefs and behaviors do the community teach me how to do and how to be best in my community as individuals began considering their own rights and responsibilities what can they do when should they Challenge and or accept what the community says when should they

4:32 speak up to hold the community accountable the second conversation about the best way to live encourages people to be ethical by looking first at their head how do you teach people to think clearly to develop good processes and be guided by reason or do you teach people to listen to their desires and learn how to choose goals that will lead to a good life and will help them thrive ethics is a study of how human beings

5:03 can choose beliefs and behaviors that will lead to good lives and human flourishing four different theories or approaches prioritize the core values slightly differently and provide guidance for us the rights and responsibilities lens invites individuals to use their reason to identify their duties and the Privileges that they can claim as individuals in this world a perspective known as deontology the results lens invites individuals to follow their hearts and desires to choose goals that are worthy and will lead to a good life a

5:34 perspective known as consequentialism the relationship lens invites communities to explore together what kind of processes and distribution of goods will be fair for all members of the community a perspective known as Justice theories the reputation lens invites members of the community to determine what qualities of being what virtues are important for the various roles that we take on in the community a perspec perspective known as virtue ethics each of the four ethical perspectives balances gives priority to

6:07 the four core Valu slightly differently in addition each of those perspective gives a slightly different map for the road of Life the rights and responsibilities perspective invites us to be honest and responsible even if no one is watching the results lens encourage us us to be respectful of all human beings and make choices that allow ourselves and others to thrive the relationship lens asks us to be fair and consider those without power

6:38 those with limited access to resources or a limited voice in our community and finally the relationship lens asks us to be compassionate as we align with our core values and live with Integrity making the best ethical decisions requires that we work through a process to harmonize to the greatest degree possible the value use of all four lenses thus we can move from it depends to given what I know and believe this is the best answer for this

7:10 situation as we walk the path to ethical maturity each of the four perspectives helps us answer key questions We Begin by exploring our personal core values what are my personal commitments what behaviors count for living into those values what keeps me from having my best self show up under stress we then notice that we are members of different communities each community may have different expressions and priorities of their values and as we see

7:40 with one political party having a strong commitment to the individual and another having a strong commitment to the community each community may expect different behaviors depending on what our role is they may expect athletes to have an excellent character both on and off the field or expect leaders to always be consistent and wise as grown-ups we get to choose what we will believe about ourselves and others and what behaviors will count for ethical Excellence as we consider the

8:11 similarities and differences among different expressions of a good life we have the privilege of choosing which values will take priority in our lives a more difficult task is resolving the differences in value priorities and expected behaviors when so many competing expectations are around us how will we live into our own ethical integrity and live with Harmony and peace in our community as we continue to ask questions and seek the best answers we will not only learn more about ethics

8:42 but our lives will be changed as we learn more about ourselves and others and as we use our reason and our emotions to help us determine the best path forward we will each be well on our way to being a more ethical person in our community thank you