A Look At the History

An early class of Faculty Fellows in Ethics (front, l to r) Andries du Toit, Gregory Dees, Jean McVeigh (Administrative Director), Dennis Thompson (Director); Lachlan Forrow, David Wasserman; (back, l to r), Henry Richardson, Judith Andre, Troyen Brennan. Photo by Martha Stewart.

The study of ethics had a prominent place in the curriculum of most colleges and universities in the 18th and 19th centuries. Students were required to take courses in the subject, often taught by the President, and faculty did not hesitate to question fundamental values. As disciplines and professions became more specialized, so did ethics. By the middle of the 20th century, the study of ethics, confined almost exclusively to departments of philosophy and theology, had turned from practical problems of life to technical problems of method and theory. The growing specialization in nearly all the disciplines and professions left little time for, and gave little legitimacy to, the discussion of ethical issues.

In the past two decades, the study of practical ethics has again begun to assume an important place in teaching and research in the university. The growth of serious scholarship in practical ethics, in a wide range of fields, provided the impetus for a university-wide approach to the subject. In 1986, Harvard took its first significant steps in meeting this challenge.

Now in its second decade, the Center not only has strengthened its own fellowship programs, but also has helped develop ethics programs in several of the professional schools, including the Program on the Legal Profession at the Law School and the Division of Medical Ethics at the Medical School. In these and other areas, most notably the schools of business, design, education, government, and public health, former fellows and visiting professors are contributing to the life of the University through their teaching and writing. All of the faculties are creating their own courses and programs, and developing their own groups of scholars specializing in ethics. Beyond Harvard, the Center is actively involved in the growing ethics movement, providing counsel to many other programs and centers at colleges and universities throughout the United States and around the world.