Click here to purchase the professionally designed and printed version of the Josephson Institute s best-selling primer, Making Ethical Decisions. W e judge ourselves by our best intentions, our most noble acts and our most virtuous habits. We are judged by our last worst act. Conscientious people who want to do their jobs well often fail to adequately consider the morality of their professional behavior. They forget that everyone's first job is to be a good person.
People are especially vulnerable to rationalizations when they seek to advance a noble cause.
Insofar as people are willing to hold others to high ethical standards and apply strict tests about whether the behavior of others is proper, perhaps the biggest challenge is for people to hold themselves to those same standards. By developing and understanding shared terminology, people can become more consistent ethical decision makers, better prepared to face the challenges of daily life. Coalition, a project of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, a nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization.