The Teaching of Undergraduate Ethics

Abstract

Moral problems arise in every area of human concern. The decisions to punish a student for cheating on an examination, to release a faculty member because of lack of funds, to allow drinking in dormitories, or to authorize a family planning clinic, are, at least in part, moral decisions facing members of the higher education community. As citizens we all know roughly our legal responsibilities, and we usually know our responsibilities to our fellow human beings. Sometimes, though, we are asked to break the law to fulfill our moral responsibility, as the abolitionists did in order to fight the immoral institution of slavery. We can agree that we have a moral obligation to obey the law, but also that we have an obligation to resist evil. Those who practice civil disobedience have usually decided that the evil of breaking the law is less than the evil of the action that the law requires. Recent examples include reporters who go to jail rather than reveal their sources, and antinuclear and antibusing demonstrators. We may disagree with those who think that their obligation to prevent nuclear power overrides their obligation to obey the trespass law, but we understand this sort of moral reasoning. The point is one with which we are all familiar: moral beliefs lead to action. Moral disagreements lead to confrontations, and moral agreements lead to powerful and effective alliances.