Your ethical toolbox

Keep an Open Mind

Avoid Dogmatism

  • ask questions
  • stop and listen
  • look at the reasons and not just the position

Avoid Rationalizing

  • slow down
  • avoid automatic comebacks
  • admit uncertainty

Avoid Relativism

  • don’t avoid conflict
  • treat disagreement as a learning opportunity
  • explore other views

Think for yourself: remember Abraham!

Clarify and Enumerate Values

Remember the four great ethical ideas:

  • Respect
  • Fairness
  • Care
  • Virtue

Watch for narrower and wider interpretations:
Which fits better in your situation?
Do other values also come up?

Clarify and Enumerate Arguments…

…from Facts/ from Values/ Analogies/ Definitions

Expand Possibilities

Multiply Options

  • ask around
  • brainstorm
  • intermediate impossible
  • random association
  • PO thinking

Reframe Problems

How could the problem be headed off or transformed into something more manageable?

Integrate Values

  • What is each side right about?
  • What new directions are possible once we start on common ground?

Talk Effectively

  • Listen first; then you can ask for the same courtesy back
  • Seek out common ground
  • Start with areas of agreement:
    • How can both/all sides find a way forward together?
    • Look for opportunities to take a constructive turn
  • Remember: there are no easy or simple answers:
    otherwise this wouldn’t be a problem…

Good luck!!