Word: morals
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Dates: during 2010-2019
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...professors Harry R. Lewis ’68 and Frederick H. Abernathy levied scathing criticism against the Corporation in the editorial pages of The Boston Globe last December, calling the body “a dangerous anachronism” that “failed its most basic fiduciary and moral responsibilities” and going so far as to demand resignations...
...Harvard has taught us well. We neglect this education through our continuous and unquestioning accession. Like all parting shots, the message can be neatly summed up with a one-sentence lesson I learned in third grade: Agree to disagree. And, like all parting shots, I will now make this moral seem much more brilliant than it actually is: Debate sows the seeds of democracy. See, the first two letters of each word are the same...
...coined in the 20th century to describe our ability to feel our way into another’s point of view. Smith called this ability “sympathy.” He saw every instance of sympathy as involving an implicit form of moral judgment. When empathetically engaging with the situation of others, we are led to imagine how we ourselves would react in their situation and don’t sympathize with reactions that are inappropriate. This is why sympathy can serve as the basis for our sense of right and wrong, what Smith called...
Smith goes on to argue that rules of justice can be generalized from our individual moral sentiments. We conclude that slavery is unjust from the fact that we sympathize not only with the fictional Eliza but with all those who really suffered under slavery. Our society can then be called just to the extent that the law reflects these general rules. When it fails to do so, the law needs to be changed. Smith was an outspoken opponent of slavery when legal systems around the globe still permitted...
...Harvard, students and faculty alike pride themselves on their intelligence. But sheer intellect alone is never sufficient for sound moral, political, or legal judgment. We also need to cultivate a wide-ranging imagination, emotional sensitivity, and all the other empathetic capacities of the human heart and mind. There is much debate as to whether these non-rational abilities can be taught in the classroom. What clearly can be taught, however, is the tremendous importance of empathy in human life—a fact recognized by 18th-century philosophers and 21st-century neuroscientists alike...