The Ethics in Society Program encourages students to reflect on fundamental issues of moral and political philosophy. Such issues include: the nature and implications of treating people with equal dignity and respect; the scope of liberty; the legitimacy of government; and the meaning of responsibility. The program poses these issues, and others, in the context of debates which have arisen in our common public life. It thus extends moral concern and reflection across disciplines such as medicine, law, economics, international relations, and public policy.

Students in the program write honors theses on topics which use moral and political philosophy to address practical problems. Previous theses have considered such questions as the just distribution of health care, our obligations to future generations, the role of moral values in education, the moral implications of genetic engineering and the relationship between gender inequality and the structures of work and family. Many of our students have won scholarships to graduate study including Marshall, Rhodes and Fulbright Fellowships. Others have taken the step from moral analysis to moral commitment, pursuing careers of public service.

The Ethics in Society program is open to all students with a GPA of 3.3 or higher. Students take two required core courses in moral and political thought, a course which applies various frameworks and methodologies to the study of a concrete social problem, a thesis seminar, and an elective related to their thesis topic. They spend their senior year writing their honors thesis. The program fosters moral reflection, discussion and practice among students as well as encourages close work between faculty and students. It also sponsors public lectures including the Tanner Lectures on Human Values and the Wesson Lectures in Problems of Democracy.

For more information about the program, contact the program's coordinator, Joan Berry (joanberry@stanford.edu) or the program's director, Professor Debra Satz (dsatz@stanford.edu). Also feel free to stop by the office, located in Building 90, Room 91G, in the main quad of Stanford University.

Current and planned initiatives of the program include:

1. Supporting and fostering ethics research.

2. Supporting innovative teaching which focuses on the ethical dimensions relevant to the different disciplines across the curriculum.

3. Establishing a yearly faculty-graduate seminar focusing on topics in ethics and public life.

What are the strengths of the Program in Ethics in Society?

The Program in Ethics in Society devotes itself to undergraduate education. Affiliated faculty participate in the program because they are committed to undergraduate ethics education. The Program offers an inherently interdisciplinary approach to the study of ethics and includes faculty from History, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Economics, and Political Science. Additionally, students who write an Honors Thesis in the Program major in every conceivable discipline, including Earth Sciences, Human Biology, Economics and Religious Studies.

The Ethics in Society Program organizes itself around the Senior Honors Thesis. Students take a broad range of courses that prepare them for the challenge of both theorizing with rigor and integrating ethical theories with real world moral and political challenges.

The Program offers individualized advising, because of its committed faculty and small size. Students meet with an advisor upon embarking on their Honors Thesis, and continue a relationship with them until graduation.