Ethics Newsline®

A reader responds to last week’s commentary, “Finders, Keepers: It May Be Legal, But Is It Ethical?”:

It concerns me when the terms “legal” and “ethical” are treated as interchangeable. Laws operate only as boundaries — like the lines on a playing field. The game rules are clear concerning what is out of bounds and what behaviors are not permitted. But simply staying in bounds and obeying the rules does not guarantee skilled play; nor does staying within the letter of the law guarantee good behavior in society.

When discussing ethical dilemmas … many will dismiss an issue as too “gray.” To them, the law provides absolutes and seems preferable to unsolvable ethical debate. “What’s the point, if you don’t end up with a ‘right’ answer?” I use the TV weathercasters as a metaphor to explain why considering ethics is worthwhile. We know that weather forecasting, even with all its science, doesn’t generate perfect accuracy. Yet we still rely heavily on these forecasts. Why? Because we benefit enormously from them, however inexact. Imagine what we could do with the same reliance on ethical forecasting!

– Martha M. McCormick
Coordinator for Training and Management Consultation, Capital EAP
Albany, New York