[彭蒙惠英语] 伦理可以教吗?(1/3)
NEWS worthy Clips (1/3)
Update your vocabulary with news clips from around the world
Can you teach ethics?
In Chicago, DePaul University professor Laura Hartman begins her business ethics class by talking about a train on a path to hit five people. By pushing a button, the train would veer off track and hit a different person instead, but only one.
“Do you hit the button?” she asks the undergraduates.
And the class continues that way all semester, with real and cases to get students thinking about their values and decision-making. They debate the ethics of marketing to children, and whether a company’s internet policy should prohibit employees from shopping online.
“You begin the class by asking them to identify what they think is right or wrong,” said Hartman, who teaches the required course for undergraduate business students. “Then we discuss how you take those values and apply them to things you are going to face in the business world.”
An ancient question
From the business world to Iraq, the headline-grabbing consequences of unethical behavior have debate of an ancient question: Can ethics be taught?
On the surface, the answer is an obvious yes, as reflected in the thousands of training programs and academic courses such as the one at DePaul.
But even among recognized experts in the field, doubts persist about whether ethics training really works. Asked if ethics can be taught, “My answer is usually no,”said Jeffrey Seglin, and Emerson College ethics professor who writes a syndicated column on the topic. “I don’t think you can teach right and wrong, you can help people with ideas about how to make critical decisions”.
Some say formal training programs can marginalize ethics, by separating the topic from relevant day-to-day conduct. And courses that focus on debating could encourage the notion that almost any action can be justified.
Vocabulary Focus
veer off (phr v) ---to suddenly change direction
on the surface (idiom) ---to appear one way, but in reality may be entirely different
marginalize (v) ---to treat something as if it is not important
Specialized terms
syndicated column (n. phr)--- an article sold to several different newspapers and magazines for publishing
