Ethicist talks about “how to be good”

By Joe Johnson
The Collegian

Students may sometimes ask themselves “How to be Good,” but may not be sure how to go about it. Author of the New York Times Magazine’s column “The Ethicist” Randy Cohen may be able to offer some moral advising.

“Ethics can be divided into two areas,” Cohen said. “First, people need to figure out what the right thing to do is. We won’t be talking about that at the lecture. What we are going to focus on is the second part: how do we get people to do the right thing when they know what it is? Why don’t people do it?”

Cohen will lecture on “How to be Good” at the Satellite Student Union Tuesday night.

“When philosophers approach this subject, they talk about character and moral decisions,” Cohen said. “I think it has more to do with our circumstances and the situations we find ourselves in. Getting people to do the right thing is not about building the right character, but shaping the right circumstances.”

“Most of the people that write to me know the answer to the question when they put it down,” Cohen said. “You can see that in how they phrase it. This was a huge relief two weeks ago when I figured this out. They aren’t asking so much what the right thing to do is, but why it is the right thing.”

Cohen was asked about a few ethical issues students typically face.

If a student is too busy to study for a test, is it OK for them to fake being sick in order to give themselves an extension?

“No, of course it’s not OK. There are times when a lie is justified, but this is just completely self-serving. You should go to your professor and tell them you screwed up. Maybe he’ll give you an extension.

Maybe he won’t. A lie is a perilous thing because it belies the trust we should have for one another as members of a community.”

Let’s say you are working on a group project with some of your classmates. One member of the team isn’t doing his or her share of the work. What do you do?

“It really depends on the nature of the project. If the real educational goal is for the team to work together to solve a problem, then you need to try various means to get that other person to pull their weight. I actually don’t like doing group work, just because of that factor. It isn’t fair if one person is just a drone and everyone else is doing their work. Your grade is being pulled down by their lack of effort and that isn’t fair either. The drone has an obligation to help out. You have to go to the professor and tell them. If the professor doesn’t do anything, then trade them to another group for $10 and an extremely nice pie. If that person completely betrays the agreements made to the group, then you are no longer obligated to give them any work. Try other things first, though, because that person may not understand the group’s belief as to the amount of work they are expected to contribute.”

Many students keep blogs and MySpace profiles nowadays. Is it ethical to read through the private thoughts of a classmate who may not know you are prying?

“Let’s say you share a dorm room with someone. If they leave their diary on the desk, there is no law that says you can’t read it. The reason you don’t read it is because you know she wouldn’t want you to.

It is the same thing online. Yes, it is legal to read another person’s blog, but you don’t know if she wants you to or not. You can argue that if she really wanted to be clear about who could read it, then she would password-protect it. The problem with that is that everyone is basically a bonehead that doesn’t step back to look at things. There is a lot of confusion in terms of technology and what we can do and should do. Rather that prying, maybe you should just ask her if it is OK to read it. If you are afraid to ask, then just ask while wearing a beret and use a French accent. She’ll never know.”

Cohen’s “How to be Good” lecture will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Satellite Student Union, as a part of the University Lecture Series. Advanced tickets are $10 for general admission, $6 for Fresno State faculty/staff, Alumni Association members and seniors and $2 for for Fresno State and University High School students. Prices Tuesday night increase by $2 for general admission, faculty, staff and Alumni Association members.

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