For some decades philosophers have focused attention on the moral dimension of various professions. The activities of physicians, nurses, lawyers, business managers, journalists, and engineers have all been subjected to scrutiny. Indeed, undergraduate courses covering such matters are offered by many philosophy departments.
Oddly, however, the moral issues inherent in one particular profession have received relatively little investigation. Not many philosophers have shown continuing interest in examining the ethical problems arising in their own bailiwick: higher education. Some scholars apparently believe that their professional activities raise no moral concerns (a dubious supposition), while other potential inquirers may be dissuaded by the uncomfortable possibility of finding fault with their colleagues or even themselves.
Indeed, skeptics may doubt the philosophical substance of academic ethics, but let me suggest a dozen sample questions that are at least as worthy of attention as those discussed in comparable fields.
- Does academic freedom allow professors to advocate in class for political causes?
- Is free speech compatible with a school’s banning expressions viewed by some as harassment?
- Should sexual relations between teachers and their students be permitted?
- Which sorts of diversity should be taken into account in college admissions and faculty appointments?
- Should candidates for faculty appointments be judged in part by their intellectual positions regarding disputed disciplinary issues?
- Does offering extensive programs in intercollegiate athletics support the aims of liberal education?
- If a professor acquires personal information about a student, may it be shared with other faculty?
- Are those who write letters of recommendation permitted to shade the truth?
- May a professor urge students not to work with a particular faculty member?
- When, if ever, are “trigger warnings” appropriate, alerting students to potentially upsetting aspects of a course?
- Is awarding honorary degrees to a school’s financial backers or political supporters consistent with academic integrity and institutional neutrality?
- Do schools have any appropriate role in providing moral guidance over student life?
Like all serious philosophical questions, these do not have easy answers. Key terms need to be explicated, careful distinctions drawn, and proposed solutions tested by possible counterexamples. In each case subtle analyses are required to support broad visions.
Undergraduate philosophy departments typically seek to attract non-majors by offering courses that will have wide appeal. One devoted to academic ethics is likely to serve that purpose.
As for a reading list, the following paperbacks, all published by Rowman & Littlefield and available at reasonable cost, are among the works that could be studied:
- Peter J. Markie, A Professor’s Duties: Ethical Issues in College Teaching
- Richard T. DeGeorge, Academic Freedom and Tenure
- Martin Golding, Free Speech on Campus
- Leslie Pickering Francis, Sexual Harassment as an Ethical Issue in Academic Life
- Robert K. Fullinwider and Judith Lichtenberg, Leveling the Playing Field: Justice, Politics, and College Admissions
- Celia Wolf-Devine, Diversity and Community in the Academy: Affirmative Action in Faculty Appointments
- Kristin Shrader-Frechette, Ethics of Scientific Research
- Peter A. French, Ethics and College Sports
- David A. Hoekema, Campus Rules and Moral Community: In Place of In Loco Parentis
- Steven M. Cahn, Saints and Scamps: Ethics in Academia (25th Anniversary Edition)
For a one-volume inexpensive anthology with accessible articles on contested issues authored by more than 20 philosophers (including Philip Kitcher, David Lewis, Laurence Thomas, and Nancy Tuana), consider Moral Problems in Higher Education (Temple University Press), a paperback anthology I edited for classroom use.
Granted, a course in academic ethics will raise controversial issues, yet class discussion should be easily generated. Moreover, the inquiry contributes to furthering a major Socratic goal: self-understanding.
Editor’s Note: Readers may also want to check out the APA’s Good Practices Guide. The booklet “is intended to serve as a set of recommendations to help philosophers create and maintain an academic community based on mutual respect, fairness, inclusivity, and a commitment to scholarship and learning.”
Steven M. Cahn
Steven M Cahn is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Among the recent books he has authored are Teaching Philosophy: A Guide (Routledge, 2018); Inside Academia: Professors, Politics, and Policies (Rutgers, 2019); Navigating Academic Life: How the System Works (Routledge, 2021); Professors as Teachers (Wipf and Stock, 2022), and, most recently, From Student to Scholar: A Candid Guide to Becoming a Professor, Second Edition (Wipf and Stock, 2024).
