About this blog

  • Thinking Ethics was a project launched in Geneva to foster the debate about ethics. A few friends, fed up with only reading about abuses in the media, decided to hold a forward-looking seminar on five subjects: ethics and performance, ethics and knowledge, ethics and consciousness, ethics and disobedience and ethics in real time. If moral has to do with right and wrong, then ethics is its application in society. We believe that people need to talk about the subject to determine the level of ethics they want. The book Thinking Ethics, a result of the seminar, is to start the discussion. This blog is a contribution to the conversation.
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Authors

  • Andrea Spencer-Cooke
  • Pascal Marmier
  • Kelly Richdale
  • Stephen Whittle
  • Steve Bowbrick
  • Beth Krasna

December 23, 2008

Christmas wish

I have been surfing around, and frankly, the most appealing concept I have come accross, and it is not new, is that of Gross National Happiness (GNH).

Coined in 1972 by former King of Bhutan Jigme Wangchuck, the term stands for the co-development of material and spiritual growth, as opposed to the single-minded pursuit of economic growth. It is based on 4 principles:

  • the promotion of equitable and sustainable socio-economic development   
  • the preservation and promotion of cultural values                                                                                 
  • the conservation of the natural environment                                                                                        
  • the establishment of good governance

Frankly, I am all for a switch to GNH. More from wikipedia here.

Posted by on December 23, 2008 at 04:56 PM in Message from the editor | | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Tags: GNH, gross national happiness, material and spiritual growth

July 15, 2006

American sensitivity to ethics

I have been travelling in the US for a week now (Nashville, New York, San Diego), and am pleasantly surprised at the signs of greening and ethical sensitivity which seem to have made it into public awareness. And which were not around during my last visit at Easter. First of all, on the radio - repeated ads for ethics training - for people in the real estate business ! Announcements for ethical officers in the job opportunity section of the newspaper. Ads in print and on TV for technology/products/services that lower CO2 emissions.  I did not pick up any of this in my previous visits, and it seems to be coming into the mainstream right now. Hybrid cars, heating systems, usage of paper in corporations and recycling... yes the R word is becoming used here too. Have also seen quite a few solar cells on houses in California.  Hope springs eternally...

Posted by on July 15, 2006 at 07:04 PM in Message from the editor | | Comments (0)

March 19, 2005

Ethics of outer space ?

I was on the UNESCO site, and given my bias for anything cross-cultural, got intrigued by a mention of ethics around the world and decided to check it out. And then I got sidetracted by a program on the ethics of outer space... You can imagine my excitement - how were they going to connect with other life forms and get them to share some forms of standards or agreements ? No such luck, it is all about the peaceful uses of outer space. Important, but not nearly as exciting...

Posted by on March 19, 2005 at 12:07 PM in Message from the editor | | Comments (0)

February 06, 2005

Welcome to Thinking Ethics

Welcome to Thinking Ethics, a new blog to democratize the debate about ethics.

Posted by on February 06, 2005 at 11:26 AM in Message from the editor | | Comments (0)