Why Movies to Teach Philosophy?
A ‘stock in trade’ of philosophical literature is the striking thought experiment. A staple in ethics and law courses is the written case study. The pedagogical advantage of these tools is twofold: They allow us to formulate and hone theoretic systems and guide practical applications of those philosophical paradigms. They also provide avenues through which […]
The Justification for Harm and Intelligence Ethics
Normally, the fact that an act is harmful is a reason not to do it. There is, in other words, a presumption against doing harm. Many theorists of espionage ethics have begun from the observation that the actions of intelligence agents, especially those that constitute human intelligence (HUMINT), are characteristically harmful. Intelligence agents sometimes resort […]
Market Competition, Effectiveness and Ethical Standards of Private Military Contractors
The infamous 2007 Nisour Square shooting in Iraq that led to the deaths of 17 civilians at the hands of American private contractors unleashed public debate about ethical use of these actors in armed conflict that continues to this day. Even before the incident, academics, non-governmental organizations, and some in the Department of Defense have […]
Stoicism at the Stockdale Center
While there are many ways to analyze ADM Stockdale’s life and his leadership, in his writings about both of those, he returned to three themes again and again. The importance of experience in stressful environments The need for principled, reflective, even philosophical leadership How leaders must bridge the gap between practical human experience (#1) and […]
Ethics Across the Curriculum
The Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership is proud to have just completed a week-long inaugural “Ethics Across the Curriculum” faculty workshop. The opening words of U.S. Naval Academy’s mission statement emphasize the great importance to the study of ethics: The mission of the United States Naval Academy is to develop midshipmen morally, mentally […]
Does the World Really Need Another Leadership and Ethics Blog?
Maybe, maybe not. What is clear is the world needs well-considered ideas to help solve “knotty problems.” I define a knotty problem as particularly difficult to solve, typically involving complex contributing factors and ambiguous potential outcomes. The current challenge facing the nation involving social justice, for example, is a classic knotty problem. That it’s a social […]