AOW 11

Doing the Ethical Thing May Be Right, But it Isn't Automatic

Alina Tugend

New York Times

Alina Tugend:

American journalist, public speaker, poet, and writer, Tugend currently writes a weekly column called "Shortcuts" for the New York Times. Having experiance writing for numerous other papers, among which are the Boston Glove and the Los Angelos Chronicles, she has also recently written an award winning book.

Summary:

Everyone would like to believe that they are fundamentally good and will behave morally and truthfully in the face of controvery. However, research shows that in reality this is not true. It has also not been displayed in history. Several studies showed that, when given the right circumstances, people easily become corrupt and even sadistic. Professor Zimbardo believes that theseare coercion, anonymity, and dehumanization. Researches believe that this step from ethical to unethical is not instantaneous, but rather a "gradual erosion of moral values and principle." Similarly, the myth that the public admires those who stand up for right is also refuted. Rather it is often that these people are shunned and are treated with hostility.

The new method of preventing this corruption is creating an environment where the public is shown the consequences of such actions, then taught how to deal with them. It is called the Heroic Imagination Projent, and the hope is to extend it to worlds of business and military.

Analysis:

Reaching out to an audience who is comprised primarily of those that read New York Times, the writer starts with talking about the controversial and immoral Penn State scandal. The article is almost an aswer, or a wake up call, for those who are reading the paper and criticizing the disgraced coaches. She uses logos and countless examples to show us that, although we would like to believe that we would act differently, research says otherwise. In case the reader doesn't believe it, at the end she quotes notable Professor Zimbardo who states, "We don't want to accept the notion because it attacks our concept of dignity of human nature." I found her purpose fulfilled, as I felt humbled by her proof.

IN addition to her use of rhetorical questions, she follows an ABAB refutation format, where she starts by stated a commonly held belief about human nature, then refutes it with studies and research. She uses communal knowledge with the recent scandal, and metaphors, such as "individual (a few bad apples), situational (a bad barrel of apples), and systemic (bad barrel makers)".