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We sell ourselves short if we go
through life without ever focusing our
thoughts.
20
Kessler continued . " "
can produce some very bad
consequences. Sorting out when and
where values have to come into play is
still a complex matter, but it is important
for people to think about the place of
ethics in their lives.
G: Whal Irends in elhical value. '"
philosophi"al Ihoughl hav" you
observed?
A: Recently, there has been a
resurgence of interest expressed by
groups such as the Moral Majority, as
well as by individuals reacting to
excessive abuse of scientific
knowledge, or problems in the
business, social, and cultural
environments. When large numbers of
people act from any value system, there
are consequences. For example,
divorce rates and the number of broken
families have skyrocketed, and as a
reaction, some people have placed a
higher value on the family, I still see,
however, a split between private family
morality and work and poiitical morality.
For instance, concern for world
suffering is no longer very common.
People may be very moralistic in their
views on abortion and homosexuality,
but they don't seem to care about
people starving in the third world, The
concern foe world suffering has given
way to individualism for both
economical and ideological reasons.
External factors constantly alter
people's values and this is reflected in
living patterns.
Q: Whal are some 01 Ihe issue"
discUissed in ethics classes?
A: Some of the more common issues
include euthanasia (mercy killing),
abortion, and world hunger. In
professional ethics classes, we may
discuss medical ethics, such as where
a patient's rights end and a physician's
responsibilities begin; or legal ethics,
such as lawyers defending people they
know are guilty, We might also discuss
the social responsibility of professionals
in the tields of psychology, journalism,
engineering, advertising, and business.
The topics vary in Contemporary
Conflicts of Morals, a general education
class.
Q: Whal is Ih" goal 01 Ihe elhi"s
class?
A: The objective of any ethics or
philosophy class is to help a student
develop an understanding of a problem,
appreciate the arguments for and
against various solutions, and draw his
or her own conclusions by exercising
reasoning skills and personal values. A
person can't say, "I hold this position
rather than someone else's because I
know I'm right," but he or she can say,
"I hold this position because I
apparently place a greater value on a
particular subject" Reasonable people
can and do dis-agree. It's the
disagreement that causes a person to
give an account for his beliefs and
defend them. it is important for sludents
to know what they believe and why,
and to subject those beliefs to a critical
examination.
Q: Do you I"el Ihal every sludenl
should lal<e an elhie" 0' philosophy
counse?
A: I think an ethics or philosophy
class would be good for every student,
but only if the person is open-minded
enough to be receptive, I think it's very
beneficial for those who consider ethics
an important part of their life. My own
experience has been that students who
have taken such a course feel that they
have received something significant
from it They discover that they are
thinking more clearly, and they
understand themselves better. People
are complex beings and have the need
and potential to think in depth, An
ethics class may give a student the
opportunity to straighten out his or her
thinking on some important issues. We
seil ourselves short if we go through life
without ever focusing our thoughts.
Q: Whal pa,1 will elhie. pley In a
student's future?
A: Working and making money are
important, but sometimes we lose our
perspective. We are still human beings
in a society, and our conduct has
implications and consequences for
other people. Our moral values are
simply a part of who we are as people,
and it is absurd to say, "I'm just going
to learn a bunch of skiils and go out to
work, but I'm not going to think about
the values that define who I am and
what impact my work has on the rest of
the world." People want to save their
ethics for their family and friends, but
you can't divorce your private life from
your career. Education is a means for
enhancing our lives; ethics and
philosophy are part and parcel of
defining ourselves, Studying philosophy
enables you to come to know yourself,
what you believe and what you value. In
fact, self discovery -is one of the most
important things that education can
offer. Self examination and comparison
of your values with other's values gives
you an opportunity to sort through
issues in a careful and reasonable way.
Although in the end, in a diversified
world, people wili come out In different
places, we're all better off when people
respond with thoughtful answers rather
than unreflective conclusions.
Object Description
| Title | 1985-86 General Catalog |
| Creator | California State University, Fresno |
| Format | PDF Document |
| Date of publication | 1985-04 |
| Subjects | California State University, Fresno. Curricula. Catalogs |
| Object type | Document |
| Location | Fresno, California |
| Language | eng |
Description
| Title | Page 020 |
| Full Text Search |
We sell ourselves short if we go
through life without ever focusing our
thoughts.
20
Kessler continued . " "
can produce some very bad
consequences. Sorting out when and
where values have to come into play is
still a complex matter, but it is important
for people to think about the place of
ethics in their lives.
G: Whal Irends in elhical value. '"
philosophi"al Ihoughl hav" you
observed?
A: Recently, there has been a
resurgence of interest expressed by
groups such as the Moral Majority, as
well as by individuals reacting to
excessive abuse of scientific
knowledge, or problems in the
business, social, and cultural
environments. When large numbers of
people act from any value system, there
are consequences. For example,
divorce rates and the number of broken
families have skyrocketed, and as a
reaction, some people have placed a
higher value on the family, I still see,
however, a split between private family
morality and work and poiitical morality.
For instance, concern for world
suffering is no longer very common.
People may be very moralistic in their
views on abortion and homosexuality,
but they don't seem to care about
people starving in the third world, The
concern foe world suffering has given
way to individualism for both
economical and ideological reasons.
External factors constantly alter
people's values and this is reflected in
living patterns.
Q: Whal are some 01 Ihe issue"
discUissed in ethics classes?
A: Some of the more common issues
include euthanasia (mercy killing),
abortion, and world hunger. In
professional ethics classes, we may
discuss medical ethics, such as where
a patient's rights end and a physician's
responsibilities begin; or legal ethics,
such as lawyers defending people they
know are guilty, We might also discuss
the social responsibility of professionals
in the tields of psychology, journalism,
engineering, advertising, and business.
The topics vary in Contemporary
Conflicts of Morals, a general education
class.
Q: Whal is Ih" goal 01 Ihe elhi"s
class?
A: The objective of any ethics or
philosophy class is to help a student
develop an understanding of a problem,
appreciate the arguments for and
against various solutions, and draw his
or her own conclusions by exercising
reasoning skills and personal values. A
person can't say, "I hold this position
rather than someone else's because I
know I'm right," but he or she can say,
"I hold this position because I
apparently place a greater value on a
particular subject" Reasonable people
can and do dis-agree. It's the
disagreement that causes a person to
give an account for his beliefs and
defend them. it is important for sludents
to know what they believe and why,
and to subject those beliefs to a critical
examination.
Q: Do you I"el Ihal every sludenl
should lal |
