Who Are You? What self would you like to have?
Now that you have written your Leadership Vision, the next step is Practical Ethics, partly because U. T., like Leadershape, requires it.[1]
Overview of Ethics. If we survey the history of ethics we must include the ethics of the East as well as the West, as we have done in our discussion of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain ethics.
In the West one of the approaches to ethics is Virtue Theory, as explained below. A focus on developing ethical character traits is even more important in the East. The result is a global "virtue" or "character" approach to ethics.
One of the primary tests of ethics throughout the world is our we treat animals. Hence that was our initial test case for practical, everyday, real-life decision making. One of the traditional ethical approaches to animals as well as to humans is the virtue or character trait of "sympathy." This is one of our primary approaches to ethics.
ETHICS IN THE WEST
VIRTUE explained. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle etc. Aristotle, for example, defined five character types, from the great-souled man to the moral monster. They focused mainly on virtues (character traits) as the subjects of ethics, esp. the cardinal virtues of courage, temperance, justice, wisdom, etc..
*** In the thirteenth century Aquinas added faith, hope, and charity to theseÓ in order to synthesize Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman. The most important for ethics is ÒCHARITY.Ó What did Aquinas mean by ÒcharityÓ? The second of JesusÕs two commandments is "Love thy neighbor as thyself." Love here is closest to the Greek sense of agape. It is the opposite of fear as in ÒPerfect LOVE casteth out fear.Ó Related virtues are COMPASSION, SYMPATHY, and EMPATHY and an obvious related skill is THE SYMPATHETIC IMAGINATION.
ETHICS IN THE EAST
Jainism: Of the five vows, "AHIMSA" is the foundational vow: non-harming of sentient beings, i.e. uncompromising reverence for all life, surpassing in this respect the Ahimsa vows of the Hindus and Buddhists. Ahimsa is based on extending knowledge/experience of oneÕs own pain to othersÕ experience of pain.
Hinduism: In the Upanishads, the three virtues are "self-restraint," giving or SELF-SACRIFICE, and COMPASSION (Basically, setting aside the ego and its own narrow self-interests). In the Gita AHIMSA is strongly recommended (16.2, 17.14) as well as concern for the Ôwelfare of allÕ and Ôdesiring the good of every living creatureÕ (3.20, 5.25). For Krishna an ethical person is one who is Òwithout hatred of any creature, friendly and compassionate without possessiveness and self-prideÓ (12:13).
Buddhism: Benevolence is central, especially as expressed in the four sublime virtues of "LOVINGKINDNESS, COMPASSION, sympathetic joy, and equanamity." There are also virtues related to conscientiousness and self-restraint. In Mahayana Buddhism the highest ideal is the Bodhisatva who has infinite commitment to others and is an expression of the widest limits of altruism.
STEP ONE. Review your LEADERSHIP ESSAY to see if you can make a place in it for LOVE (AGAPE), LOVINGKINDNESS, COMPASSION, SYMPATHY, EMPATHY, THE SYMPATHETIC IMAGINATION, AHIMSA, or SELF-SACRIFICE.
STEP TWO. CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS:
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write about your personal experience of the practice of a virtue, such as compassion
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or practice the sympathetic imagination by writing from the point of view of another person, animal, or plant in need of compassion
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or combine these two options
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In any case, unless this is part of your original leadership vision, conclude with a new action plan*
OPTION 1: Try to advance your awareness and practice of this virtue in everyday life, especially in the kind of leadership, social situations that the framers of the ethics requirement had in mind. By trying to increase your capacity for a specific virtue, presumably you will be raising consciousness of the many ethical issues that arise daily, as well as your options for responding. You will be trying to create a new self, maybe daily, maybe even minute by minute. Most of your ethics essay will be devoted to describing this experience.
Make your account of this experience as concrete, detailed, and dramatic as possible. (Perhaps focus on a single incident as in Andrew's project.) Draw the reader into the ethical situation. Make it as dramatic as possible, with suspense, conflict, resolution, etc. Make sure to include at least one leadership moment when your personal interests conflict with those of others and you had to make an ethical decision. If you can not think of such a moment in your past, you can imagine one in your future. Perhaps make the essay revolve around this decision. (For examples, see website.)
THE EXAMPLE OF COMPASSION. Recognizing that ÒThere is a long line of thought that finds the source of ethics in the attitudes of benevolence and sympathy for others that most people have,Ó an obvious example would be ÒCOMPASSION,Ó a key virtue in four of the five ethical traditions cited above.
EXAMPLE 1. In a Christian context, perhaps your motto would be ÒPerfect love casteth out fear.Ó Your daily practice then would be to become aware that you have a choice between love and fear almost every minute, and then trying to shift from fear to love in that moment, especially in leadership, social situations. Most of your essay would be writing about those experiences and what you learned from them about practical ethics, especially in leadership, social situations.
EXAMPLE 2. What would it be like to try to increase your capacity for compassion in your daily life? An obvious example of how pursuit of this virtue could occupy you daily is compassion for animals. As you go about your day, you will be making many decisions involving treatment of pets, use of animals for food, clothing, entertainment, etc. Describe this experience, especially in leadership, social situations.
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OPTION 2: REVIEW THE DEFINITION OF THE "SYMPATHETIC IMAGINATION"
Choose a being in need of compassion and see the world from that being's perspective. See examples below.
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EXAMPLES
OPTION 1 : Love and Compassion for All Sentient Beings: KARISMA; Love for Everyone: MARY ; Compassion for Children: KAJAL; Compassion for Animals: the leather wallet present: ANDREW; dancing elephants, practicing compassion: CARLY
OPTION 2 : Sympathetic Imagination for Animals: hamster for sale, AMANDA JANE ; a dog rescued: ERICA ; the snail: CAT ;
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*conclude with a new action plan. Ethics requires not only a virtue, such as compassion, but an application of this virtue to practical problems in your daily life. This need not be the kind of detailed plan you included in your leadership vision. However, it should include some stretch goals and some manageable goals.
Stretch goals move the individual or the organization forward toward the vision. They are almost impossible (but not quite), big, bold leaps into the future. They draw not only on your passion but your ability to think outside the box, beyond your comfort zone.
Manageable goals are more attainable milestones that encourage you with quick wins, enabling the individual or organization to stay motivated, engaged, and propelled by a growing sense of confidence. Defined action plans and strategies for success, they are specific, measureable, realistic, and possible. Each manageable goal should begin with a first step, proceed with specific tasks, identify resources needed, and set a deadline or timeline, if possible.
Do not see how you can do anything to solve a huge problem such as cruelty to animals? Consider the starfish story, legal and political options, and the tremendous range of specific solutions adopted by PETA:
* 379A The Starfish Story * Political and Legal Actions * 379B-381A California Ballot Measure * 381A Hog Farming Prosecution * 381A-D- Iowa Slaughterhouse Case * PRACTICAL ETHICS IN ACTION: EXAMPLES FROM P.E.T.A * 382-384 Creating a Group * 385-386 Ten Actions * 387-388 Respect Animals * 389-397 Not Eating Animals * 398-402 Protect Entertainment Animals * 403-404 Protest Hunting and Fishing * 405-414 Protect Companion Animals * 415-419 Protect Laboratory Animals * 420-425 Not Wearing Animals * 426-427 Stop School Vivisection * 428-432 Protect Wildlife
1]U. T. ETHICS REQUIREMENT: ÒIn the process of fulfilling the core curriculum and other degree requirements, all undergraduates are expected to complete courses with content in the following six areas: * Writing: three courses beyond Rhetoric and Writing 306 or its equivalent * Quantitative reasoning: one course * Global cultures: one course * Cultural diversity in the United States: one course * Ethics and leadership: one course * Independent inquiry: one course.
Faculty Council Legislation: To satisfy the Ethics and Leadership flag, at least one-third of the courses grade must be based on work in practical ethics, i.e., the study of what is involved in making real-life ethical choices.Ó
NEW teams for evaluating projects on Blackboard
NEW detailed criteria for your Blackboard version here.
LOOKING AHEAD:
Detailed criteria for your print version here (to be turned into the instructor).
Writing Center: I strongly encourage you to use the Undergraduate Writing Center, FAC 211, 471-6222. The Undergraduate Writing Center offers free, individualized, expert help with writing for any UT undergraduate, by appointment or on a drop-in basis. Any undergraduate enrolled in a course at UT can visit the UWC for assistance with any writing project. They work with students from every department on campus, for both academic and non-academic writing. Whether you are writing a lab report, a resume, a term paper, a statement for an application, or your own poetry, UWC consultants will be happy to work with you. Their services are not just for writing with "problems." Getting feedback from an informed audience is a normal part of a successful writing project. Consultants help students develop strategies to improve their writing. The assistance they provide is intended to foster independence. Each student determines how to use the consultant's advice. The consultants are trained to help you work on your writing in ways that preserve the integrity of your work.