Teaching Ethical Failure

Abstract

All teachers teach ethics by the examples they set, so professors must make sure they set good examples. In preparing people for business or war, teachers may fall into the trap of teaching people to take moral holidays, as Sophocles shows in his play, the Philoctetes. Teachers must also realize that they communicate values to their students in more subtle ways. The topics they avoid are significant; shunting ethics to one side or leaving it to the end of a course sends a message. “Gorgias syndrome” means the kind of teaching that puts the focus on winning while ignoring moral values. Placing emphasis on quantitative goals can also eclipse true values. On all topics, professors should believe in the value of what they teach for their students and the community.