Publisher's Synopsis
Making Ethical Decisions is a blueprint
to help the reader arrive at sound decisions. For more than a dozen years, various versions of this publication
have served as the basic primer of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, a nonprofit teaching, training and
consulting organization based in Marina del Rey, California, and active nationwide. The Institute advocates
principled decision-making based on six values that cut across time, culture, politics, religion, ethnicity and
other human division. These values, called the "Six Pillars of Character," are, trustworthiness respect
responsibility fairness caring good citizenship (responsible participation in society), and . The Six Pillars are
the basis of ethically defensible decisions and the foundation of well-lived lives.
examples and intensifying the focus on discernment, discipline and effectiveness as vital elements of ethical
decision making.
Yet however much the material is reworked, the real work remains with you. No one can simply read about
ethics and become ethical. It's not that easy. People have to make many decisions under economic, professional
and social pressure. Rationalization and laziness are constant temptations. But making ethical decisions is worth
it, if you want a better life and a better world. Keep in mind that whether for good or ill, change is always just a decisions away.
