Shades of grey

I had an interesting discussion last week with one of the FASS associate deans, following a long afternoon of “academic integrity” offense hearings which had left her rather disillusioned.  What bothered her most, she said, was not that some students cheated on their assignments, but rather that, when caught, they exhibited no remorse whatsoever.  There was no admission of guilt, no sense of having done anything wrong, apart from the nuisance of having been caught.

The conversation then shifted to a larger plane: are ethics absolute or relative?  Or are there some ethical issues which are so clearly defined that no deviation can be tolerated?  We agreed that it could never be ethical to harm another person … although even here the case is sometimes made that this is acceptable if it serves an even greater good, such as saving multiple lives.  This is, of course, the defense for the use of torture in the interrogation of terrorists.  Does the end ever justify the means?  I don’t think our society has yet developed a clear consensus on that question. 

We also agreed that there were issues about which different individuals could hold different ethical views: whether one should eat meat, for example.  I am personally carnivorous, albeit in moderation, but I can understand and respect another person who takes the alternative view and eschews meat altogether.  Hey, some of my best friends are vegans!  But what about some religious and cultural practices: both male and female circumcision, for example?  Courts in Europe are currently tied up in knots over that one, torn between, on the one hand, the rights of an infant not to be subjected to a medically unnecessary and painful surgical procedure, and, on the other, some notion of respect for the traditional practices of certain ethnic or religious groups.

But where we agreed most was perhaps on the difference in attitudes by age.  Undergraduate students tend to see things in sharply binary terms: right or wrong, black or white, with us or against us; whereas those of my particular vintage are more likely to see the world in hazy shades of grey.  The older I get, the less likely I seem to view issues as absolutes.

And no doubt you thought that we sat around in OD FASS spending our days crunching numbers, preparing reports, and engaging in other purely bureaucratic pursuits.  Well, if you did, you would be right for the most part.  But occasionally there are more interesting discussions, even in the dean’s office!