- Ethics Rules for an Unethical Profession: There is going to be a Town Hall meeting on “Ethics in the Paranormal Field.” Boy, would I love to be at that meeting!
- Is It Ethical to Censor Someone’s Question You Think Is Unethical?: Here is a post questioning whether a question can be so offensive that it is unethical to even ask it. The obvious answer: if you refuse to ask it, nobody will have the chance to explain what’s wrong with it.
- “Yeah, Well, he Probably Deserved it…”: As mind-blowing as the video of the Texas teacher assaulting and savagely beating a male student are the many, many on-line comments expressing sympathy and even support for her actions. What on earth is going on out there? Yes, teachers are placed in a nearly impossible position by restrictions on class discipline. Yes, there are students whose conduct is outrageous. Yes, I’m sure many teachers have wanted to lash out. Yes, the kid was probably no angel. Neither these or any other factors can possibly justify an adult authority figure resorting to violence against a student, a child, and someone placed in her care by the family and the state. “Where can I contribute to her defense fund?” writes one commenter. Another’s response is that if it were her son, she would come down to the school and beat up the teacher. And people keep asking me why I bother to write about ethics…
- Dubious Victory: Remember the case of the elderly sisters suing each other over lottery winnings? Well, the judge ruled that the older sister didn’t have to split the $500,000 with her sister. Let’s hope she devotes more time to re-building her once close sibling relationship than to spending the money. I repeat (from the earlier post): the best outcome for all concerned would have been to avoid court and preserve the love. These women need each other more than money.
- You’ll Still Never Do It, But..: The Business Insider has one of the best discussions of Facebook’s many ethical problems in its recent “10 Reasons to Delete Your Facebook Account.”
- Ethics Oaths Don’t Really Work Very Well, Because Unethical People Don’t Follow Oaths, But Never Mind: The creators of the MBA Oath answer some everyday ethics questions, and show that they, at least, have good ethical instincts.
Ethics Alarms 