Can Ethics Be Taught?

Abstract

have few rivals in their willingness to talk openly about ethical standards. They are preached in our churches, proclaimed by public officials, debated in the press, and discussed by professional societies to a degree that arouses wonder abroad. Yet there has rarely been a time when we have been so dissatisfied with our moral behavior or so beset by ethical dilemmas of every kind. Some of these problems have arisen in the backwash of the scandals that have recently occurred in government, business, and other areas of national life. Others are the product of an age when many new groups are pressing claims of a distinctly moral nature-racial minorities, women, patients, consumers, environmentalists, and many more. It will be difficult to make headway against these problems without a determined effort by the leaders of our national institutions. But the public is scarcely optimistic the prospects, for society's faith in its leaders has declined precipitously in recent years. From 1966 to 1975, the proportion of the public professing confidence in Congress dropped from 42 to 13 percent; in major corporate presidents from 55 to 19 percent; in doctors from 72 to 43 percent; and in leaders of the bar from 46 to 16 percent. Worse yet, 69 percent of the public agreed in 1975 that over the past 10 years, this country's leaders have consistently lied to the people. It is also widely believed that most of the sources that transmit moral standards have declined in importance. Churches, families, and local communities no longer seem to have the influence they once enjoyed in a simpler, more rural society. While no one can be certain that ethical standards have declined as a result, most people seem to think that they have, and this belief in itself can erode trust and spread suspicion in ways that sap the willingness to behave morally toward others. In struggling to overcome these problems, we will surely need help from many quarters. Business organizations and professional associations will have to take more initiative in establishing stricter codes of ethics and providing for their enforcement. Public officials will need to use imagination in seeking ways of altering incentives in our legal and regulatory structure to encourage moral behavior. But it is also important to look to our colleges and universities and consider what role they can play. Professors are often reluctant even to talk about this subject because it is so easy to seem censorious or banal. Nevertheless, the issue should not be ignored if only because higher education occupies such strategic ground from which to make a contribution. Every businessman and lawyer, every public servant and doctor will pass through our colleges, and most will attend our professional schools as well. If other sources of ethical values have declined in influence, educators have a responsibility to contribute in any way they can to the moral development of their students. DEREK C. BOK is president of Harvard University.