The Maleability of Ethics

A tide of convenience is dictating to an ever-increasing number of people that ethics is open to interpretation -- that my ethics might be different from your ethics, and neither of us has the freedom to decide that one or the other holds the correct ethical view. That belief is one of the most pernicious personal philosophies permeating our "me first" society.

If ethics is open to interpretation, then nothing is unethical! That's why we have Enron, Health South, and Tyco scandals.

In fact, ethics (the unambiguous version) can be easily determined objectively by using logic and reason -- a point which was driven home to me at age 19 by a wise grad student who taught my Logic 101 class.

Near the end of the semester we had covered all of the required course material and our instructor decided to delve into some advanced logical exercises. He broached the subject of ethics by asking, "How many here believe that ethics is a personal matter, and is up to each individual to decide?" Most of the hands in the room went up. He then pointed to each student who had their hand up in turn, and said "You flunk the course, you flunk the course, you flunk, you flunk..."

When people started to believe that he wasn't kidding, an outcry ensued. His answer: "I'm just exercising my personal right to determine what's ethical. My ethics dictate that if you disagree with me you should flunk the course."

Everyone quickly got the point, and of course, no one flunked. But that narcissistic view of life pervades society and has created a mindset ripe for dismissing ethics in favor of "what's best for me?" Our class soon discovered empirical methods for applying logic to ethical questions, and we were quickly disabused of our sophomoric notions.

For those people who may never learn to apply logic to ethical questions (or who persist in the belief that one can't do that) it all really boils down to common sense. Just listen to your conscience. That little voice inside is remarkably astute at knowing what is right and wrong.

An article that I recently read poignantly addressed this issue. It was called "There Is No Such Thing as Business Ethics." Its point was that ethics is not constrained by labels or agendas. It is universally applicable.

Whether you are in business, in information technology, in medicine, in the retail trades, or in denial, ethics applies, and can be easily determined. Human beings that we are, however, we will always be plagued by piranhas and pariahs who choose to ignore this inconvenient truth. Laws, rules, certifications, and other codified ethical standards might help. But there is no silver bullet.

Whereas we can not really choose what is ethical and what is not, we, unfortunately can choose to ignore moral questions and eschew ethical behavior. It's a convenient way to rationalize a focus of "looking out for numero uno" and a"me first" consciousness.

Whither morality and civility? Do we not care anymore? Have we decided that the law of the jungle is our moral compass?

Man's law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same. --Crow Indian proverb