2008 Woodie Awards
Daniels professor advocates business, personal ethics
Corey Ciocchetti presents lecture on ethical conduct
Sara Castellanos
Issue date: 2/6/07 Section: News
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Ciocchetti proposed two ways to develop character: adopt certain virtues and follow the "platinum rule."
"If you can do these, you can develop your character. None of these happen by osmosis. Nobody is born with these virtues, they are developed over time," said Ciocchetti.
According to Ciocchetti, if a person intends to be virtuous, he or she must follow Aristotle's ethical framework of virtue ethics.
Ciocchetti said the virtue spectrum presents two extremes of a virtue, such as honesty, with the "golden mean" in the middle.
The goal is to aim for the middle of the spectrum in terms of virtues such as honesty, loyalty, respect, compassion, humility and courage.
Ciocchetti said a person must strive for the absolute middle spectrum to prevent being on one extreme or the other.
"For example, if you are not honest at all, you are a liar. If you are too honest you may be considered blunt. Your character is developed by having all of these virtues in your life," Ciocchetti said.
The second way to develop ethical character is to follow the action guiding "platinum rule." The rule is, "Treat others better than you would want to be treated."
Ciocchetti thinks this rule allows people to follow an action-guiding principle in their everyday lives and is especially useful when they encounter an ethical dilemma.
Ciocchetti teaches law and business ethics to undergraduates and graduate students. He is also the author of the book, Real Rabbits: Chasing Authentic Success. According to Ciocchetti, there are 100 students in the Business, Ethics and Legal Studies (BELS) minor.
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