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n response to our in ings, a committee o con-erned faculty at
our university took a full year totudy our survey results,
interview our students andaculty, and research academic-integrity
policies at
ot er universities. As a resu t o our e orts, we aveoun t at co
ege acu ty can ta e severa steps to
maximize honesty on campus.
Communicate! Ta to t e stu ents a out integ-rity. Let t em now t
at you expect t eir esteffort. Define what your policies are for
eachassignment in each class. While collaboration isencouraged on
some assignments, it is strictlyor i en in ot ers. Communicate c
ear y to t em
what is acceptable.
Make it easier for your students to do the rightt ing. Even i
your sc oo as an onor co e t atencourages teachers to leave the
room duringexams, do not do it! According to the studentswe
surveyed, the teachers absence increases thei e i oo t at t ey wi e
tempte to c eat.Also, teachers can give alternate forms of theame
exam; with todays software programs, it is
easy to scramble questions and make a differentform for each row
of students. Do not allow cellp ones, ats wit i s, or programma e
ca cu a-tors during exams.
Try to develop a campus culture where cheatingis unaccepta e. T
is may invo ve an institution-al-integrity policy, a clear
statement of the institu-tions academic-integrity policies, or
consistentlyenforced sanctions for integrity violations. Do notre y
on your sc oo s onor co e to re uce is-honesty if it is based on
students turning in theirpeers for cheating. Research has proved
that, evenif students do not approve of unethical behavior,they
will not betray their classmates.
Model personal integrity for your students. Behonest in your
dealings with them and employimpartial, appropriate assessment
techniques. Ifwe as teac ers misrepresent ata on a researcproject,
use unjust grading procedures, or fail totreat all students fairly
and equally, what are wehowing them about our own integrity?
We ive in an imper ect wor popu ate y peop eith human
shortcomings, where pressures abound,
business and political role models are corrupt, andood role
models are rare. Although the academic envi-
ronment is ar rom eing a per ect wor , t e ecisionto be honest
is still made individually by each student;
e as faculty members can influence our students totake that
decision seriously and to take pride in theirown integrity.
Ruth N. Henry teaches exercise science in the Department of
Kinesiology at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee.
MichaelW.Brough
Philosophical Limits:A Question of Ethics*
nfettered investigation is the realm ofhilosophy. Among the many
goals of
a college-level introduction to philoso-hy is to allow students
to question
even t eir most tig t y e e ie s, todoubt what they had before
consid-ered indubitable. Over the semesterof such an introductory
philosophyourse, pro essors ope t eir stu entslean an appreciation
for and under-
standing of different positions, a respect for theforce of
reason, and a healthy skepticism. Success,for a philosophy
professor, is a student who seest e wor i erent y, w o reasons more
tig t y,
who reads and listens both more curiously andmore
questioningly.
But success does not always occur by the end oft e un ergra uate
semester, an most p i osop yprofessors realize that. Many students
no doubtleave with more questions than they entered with either
they have come to doubt the too-easyanswers t at t ey a een given
previous y, orthey have faced issues that they had never
beforeconsidered. Either way, there is a good chance thatstudents
at the end of their semester-long philo-sophical experience will be
more mixed up than
w en t ey starte . P i osop y pro essors s ounot agonize over
this, of course: students haveplenty of time to make up their minds
about theimportant life issues that philosophy raises. Even ifstu
ents are con use now a out t eir o igationsto others, the existence
of God, or what the GoodLife is, they have years to decide on these
impor-tant issues, and the chances are low that they willdo serious
harm to themselves or others while tak-ing t ose years to re ect an
ive.
hat approach is appropriate for professors atmost institutions,
I think, but for the past three
years I have taught introductory philosophy, acourse wit a eavy
emp asis on et ics, to sop o-mores at the United States Military
Academy atWest Point, a four-year institution the express aimof
which is to graduate and commission officersinto t e U.S. Army. T e
aim o t e Aca emy p acesits philosophy professors in a unique
position: thesecadets to whom I teach ethics may lead platoons inas
little as a few years, and that fact will give pauseto anyone
familiar with the military. The men andwomen w o gra uate an ea p
atoons are someof the most powerful twenty-two and
twenty-three-year-olds on the planet. They command units of
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about thirty soldiers, and most wield implements ofdestruction
rifles, tanks, and missiles. As we haveeen t roug out t e twentiet
century an most
recently in Afghanistan and Iraq, they possess theotential for
unimaginable evil, as well as good.
t is this consideration that draws me awayrom t e position t at
I out ine ear ier, t e one
that remains satisfied with graduating those whoare utterly
confused about lifes big questions.
he course I teach focuses on ethical issues, partlybecause
ethics is the domain in which a lieutenantsmissteps are t e most
amaging an ea y. Weneed only recall Lieutenant William Calleys
rolen Vietnams My Lai Massacre to understand thedangers that a
morally bereft platoon leader posesto noncom atants an is own so
iers. In teac ingthis course, I take on several mutually
supportingobligations: to the nation, to the future officer, to
hisor her platoon, and to the people of other nations
ho might be helped or hurt by the officers deci-ions. T ose o
igations entai t at I ma e a strenu-ous effort to turn my students
away from ethicalnihilism, for example, and that I make an
unsubtleargument for the immunity of noncombatants.Suc o igations a
so require t at i ca ets mentionthat they think that all people in
a combat zone areequal, and therefore equally targetable, I try to
per-uade them that such is not the case. Naturally, thiss only
after I let their classmates persuade them, butt e point is t at I
cannot in goo conscience et sucan ethical statement lie. To do so
in the standard col-lege classroom is merely to recognize the
studentsontinual search for moral understanding. To doo at a mi
itary aca emy is to invite atrocities suc
as those we have most recently witnessed at AbuGhraib.
eciding which few things are nonnegotiablen a p i osop y c ass i
e t is is a icey tas witotentially serious repercussions, and it is
a topicorthy of serious debate. Certainly, military educa-
tion should not impose religious beliefs, and my ownthought is
that it ought not advocate any certain eth-ca ramewor over anot er.
T e mi itary pro ession
has plenty of room for Kantians, utilitarians, andobservers of
the natural law. There are some ethicaltandards that must remain
constant, however; the
mi itary is no p ace or one w o is e ieves in t erelevance of
ethics, for example. And in the specificases, officers not only
should follow the rules thatrohibit torturing and killing POWs and
targeting
noncombatants, but they also must to a great extent uy into t
ose mora positions, as we . I t ey onot, they run the risk of
leading themselves or theirtroops into atrocities. When I teach
them philosophy,at least part of my aim, on behalf of the
Americaneop e, is to prevent t at.
The views expressed in this piece are those of theaut or an o
not re ect t e o icia po icy orposition of the United States
Military Academy,the Department of the Army, the Department
ofDefense, or the U.S. Government.
Michael W. Brough is a former assistant professor ofphilosophy
at the United States Military Academy; he isnow stationed in Seoul,
South Korea.
MaryLynnCo os mo
How Shall We Learn? How Shall We Live?
have always been interested in man-ners. My parents hailed from
EasternEurope, and although uneducated, they
are very muc a out training mybrother and me in proper,
respectfulbehavior. I have brought this experi-ence from my home as
a child to myome as an a u t raising our aug ters
an t en into my co ege c assroom.anners are also foundational to
the
educational experience in my psychology classroom.
In t e co ege c assroom, not on y o I want mytu ents to un
erstan uman eve opment across
the lifespan through their text and class time, I alsowant them
to understand why this psychological
knowledge matters, how it links to the world out-i e o t e c
assroom wa s, an w y t is now e ge
opens their personal doors to life and learning. Ibelieve that
it also opens the windows to their souls.
The following five ideas increase the likelihood ofour wor ing
toget er in civi ity an consi eration asa classroom community.
1. Presume welcome and extend welcome. Studentsarrive at my
class each day presuming my wel-come. T ey wait or my smi e an my
greeting.They wait for me to ask them questions about
their time between our last class and this presentclass. It is
critically important to me to learn theirnames as soon as possi e
in t e semester an toca t em y name eac time I see t em in c assor
on campus. I honor them by rememberingtheir names.
2. Be present in t e moment. Pay attention, t eexperts te us. As
a c i , I remem er earingmy parents admonition, Pay attention to
themoment. It passes by very quickly! From myparents I also learned
that along with the fleetingmoment, t ere are a so manners o t e
moment. I
learned to anticipate the needs of others by learn-
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