I’ve spent the past week cruising the upper Rhine in Germany. At one of the stops, we not only had the chance to explore a Museum of Medieval Torture but also visit the dungeon of a local castle with its sampling of the tools used to encourage ethical behavior. In addition to the pillories (wooden […]
Over the past month, I’ve been privileged to visit more than five universities and speak with several hundred students and faculty about ethics and ethics education. No matter the size of the group or the announced topic, at some point the question was asked: What did you think about the hearing for Judge—now Justice—Kavanaugh? Did […]
We often hear from faculty members who assert that they don’t have to think about teaching ethics because their subject doesn’t include conversations about values. However, like it or not, every faculty member teaches ethics—either intentionally or unintentionally. All educators talk about the ethical potholes of their discipline, model a (hopefully) civil and respectful environment […]
With judicial nominee Neomi Rao walking back comments she made in college about date rape and a continuing conflagration over Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s pictures in his yearbook of a man in blackface accompanied by someone in a KKK robe, the conversation about how long someone should be held accountable for juvenile actions has roiled again to the surface […]
When people think of the importance of imagination, a myriad of creative opportunities come to mind—writing a novel, making a film, designing an engineering breakthrough. Very few of us, however, think about using our imagination to become more ethical. It turns out that in human development—becoming ethically mature—our imagination is our most powerful ally. Brian […]
Five hundred and five 2×4” tiles with pictures of young women and abstract teal art. Five hundred and five tiles—one for each person “the perpetrator” violated over a thirty-year period. The sheer enormity of the sexual assault overwhelmed me as I walked through the door of the Michigan State University Museum to visit their exhibit, […]
Over the past sixty days, since the call went out to send students home and move to online teaching, the EthicsGame team has listened to many faculty and friends who are concerned that they are being asked to completely change their core identity—from one who teaches in front of a class to one who facilitates […]
As the summer wears on, faculty members are scurrying to deal with an uncertain fall and those in organizations are sorting out the fallout from a very disruptive summer. Two dark threads weave their way through the tapestry of our lives. The first is the uncertainty and economic disruptions of COVID-19. The second is coming […]
In 2011, Lisa Folajtar pled guilty to tax fraud—a felony. In the ensuing years, she served her sentence and paid her fines. But, with a felony on her record, her Second Amendment right to possess firearms was permanently revoked. Her case to restore her right to own a gun now wends its way through the […]
The words still haunt me: “Remember, everything you do will ripple through everyone else’s hard drive. It may take some time, but whatever changes you make will impact everyone else on the team.” And I then thought—just like all of life. I was trying to share documents with a team member and finally was frustrated […]