Ethics for the Real World: Developing a Code of Ethics to Guide Decisions in Work and Life

Catalog description

This seminar addresses two major questions: (1) How do the contexts of our lives affect ethical behavior? and (2) How can we develop our character to manage ethically compromising personal and organizational challenges, while being authentic? Using experiential methods, reflective writing, and dialogue to help students discover individual ethical principles guiding behavior. We examine legacies from religion, spiritual teaching, and cultural upbringing (family, schools, friends, community, and nation), and moral philosophy to explore important personal values to build leadership character. These serve as standards of behavior to help decision-making in difficult contexts. With a focus on values and virtues, the course helps students think about the type of person they want to be and the sort of world they want to help create. Included are practical exercises for development of a code of ethics, an iterative process articulating principles of moral construction. These can serve as a foundation for character development, integrity, and moral courage for ethical decision-making to confidently address challenges throughout life. Counts as a Communication Intensive course. Counts as a Human Diversity & Commonality course. Counts as a Moral & Ethical Reasoning course. Prereq: Academic Inquiry Seminar (AIQS) or SAGES First Seminar.