Mistakes in Teaching Ethics

摘要

Having had the unique opportunity of teaching ethics at the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, for seven years--preceded by 13 years of experience teaching at a military college, one year at Notre Dame, plus service as an Army officer and as a baseball coach in college and high school--I have probably committed most of the mistakes I outline below. In writing this short piece, I am not trying to point an accusing finger at any person, group, or institution. In fact, readers will recognize that what I label mistakes can be intelligently defended by someone else. Moreover, what I present here is not necessarily approved or endorsed by the Air War College, Air University, the Air Force, or, in fact, anyone else in this hemisphere. I simply cannot imagine anyone's staking out a position against ethics or against teaching ethics. Indeed, throughout history, almost all aggressors have shot back; that is, they represent themselves as being the victims of aggression rather than the perpetrators of it. So it is with ethics. The most unethical people, groups, and institutions enjoy being seen as paragons of virtue. Were the devil himself to appear, I suspect that he would choose the guise of a saint. So we can dispose of one notion--namely, that some people do not want ethics to be taught. To claim that position is rather like being opposed to motherhood, apple pie, and baseball. Some people may not like any of those three things, but, customarily, they don't argue vigorously against them. Whose ethics will we teach. We could spend a great deal of time debating this topic. Some people argue that, in a multicultural country, we are hard pressed to delineate one understanding of ethics.