Ethics and Human Interface
What ethics means, where ethical standards come from, the nature of good and evil, factors that shape ethical behaviour, why ethics matters for individuals and society, how to evaluate whether an action is ethical, the ethical standards expected in public administration, ethics in private and public relationships, personal versus professional ethics of civil servants, maintaining integrity in a corrupt system, the distinction between beliefs and values, how ethics differs from values, codes, principles, and ideals, where morals come from and why practising them is hard, moral earnestness, situations where ethics and morals conflict, ethical competence and its five skills, intuition, rationality, apathy, reformative and retributive justice, the difference between law and justice, practical ways to ensure justice in public service, cognitive biases that distort thinking, ethical blind spots like bounded ethicality and ethical fading, information disorders, core moral philosophy concepts, and the three major moral theories of deontology, utilitarianism, and applied ethics
Topics
Ethics: Foundations, Determinants, and Public Life
What ethics means and why right and wrong are hard to pin down, the two sides of human nature, where ethical standards come from, the nature of good and evil, six factors that shape ethical behaviour, why ethics matters for individuals and society, how to evaluate an action on ethical grounds, and the ethical standards required in public administration
Ethics in Private and Public Relationships
How ethics operates differently in private and public relationships, why a strict wall between the two is neither possible nor desirable, the distinction between personal and professional ethics of civil servants, and practical principles for maintaining honesty inside a corrupt system
Beliefs, Values, Ethics, and Morals
How beliefs form and change, what makes values deeply resistant to change, the distinction between ethics and values, how codes, principles, and ideals translate inner convictions into action, where morals come from and why practising them is harder than preaching, what moral earnestness means, and how ethics and morals can sometimes pull in opposite directions
Ethical Competence, Intuition, Rationality, and Justice
What ethical competence means and the five skills that make it possible, how intuition works as an inner guide, the role of rationality in practical decision-making, why apathy is dangerous in public life, the meaning of justice and the difference between reformative and retributive approaches, how law and justice are related but distinct, and practical ways a public servant can ensure justice
Ethical Concepts, Biases, and Moral Theories
How cognitive biases distort thinking and decision-making, why ethical blind spots cause good people to act unethically, the difference between disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation, key concepts in moral philosophy from moral absolutism to social contract theory, fiduciary duty and its importance, and the three major moral theories of deontology, utilitarianism, and applied ethics