Now, the challenge for me is to manifest them in my life and the institutions that I touch. Society Program A university education is concerned with values, especially with the values that should govern the choices of individuals and societies. The Ethics in Society Program explores these questions and others from an interdisciplinary perspective. Drawing on philosophy, political science, history, economics, psychology and religious studies, the program challenges abstract and competing theories of value and morality to prove their usefulness in guiding human experience and social practice. One of the problems with most moral theories is that we don't know how to embody them in our lives.
Morality is universal in scope.
But that universal morality needs to be interpreted within the context of real institutions and relationships. Moral theories are based on simplifying assumptions about human beings and their society - assumptions that leave out the messy stuff of conflicts among our most cherished ideals, omit discussion of our competing social roles and obligations, and are often inapplicable in circumstances in which compromise and strategy are unavoidable. In our program, we ask how abstract theories can be incorporated into the way we live - or should live. This is because we believe that moral theorizing and moral action are inescapable. We want to prepare our students for lives of personal integrity and reflective citizenship, encouraging their capacities for critical thinking and their concern for justice.