I wanted to share my response in a LinkedIn discussion around ethics (I don’t know if that link will work if you’re not a member of the group). It started when someone asked participants to list a few ethics books they’d found helpful. I posted several titles, culled from the archives of my Positive Power [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Ethics: General'
Should Ethics Be Based in Philosophy…Or Practice?
December 6th, 2009 · 5 Comments · Ethics: General
Tags: books·ethics·philosophy·practical·praxis
Ben Franklin: Genius and Contradictions
November 27th, 2009 · 5 Comments · Business Ethics, Entrepreneurship, Ethics: General, Publishing, Transparency vs. Secrecy, propaganda
While visiting Minneapolis, I took in the opening day of the new Ben Franklin exhibit at the Minnesota History Center in downtown Saint Paul. I’ve long ben a Franklin fan. To me, his far-reaching curiosity, big-picture viewpoint, multiple interests, creativity, willingness to question authority and even make fun of it, media and persuasion skills, dedication [...]
Tags: abolitionism·Ben Franklin·Benjamin Franklin·contradictions·diplomacy·ethics·invention·morality·science·slavery
YouTube and Our Perception of Cross-Species Friendship: WIll It Change Society?
September 14th, 2009 · No Comments · Ethics: General, Web 2.0/Social Media
Here’s an odd thought: Could viral videos actually change the culture? What are the implications, long-term, for our culture in the widespread visibility of cross-species animal friendship, animals figuring out difficulties and solving a way around them, animals responding to music—or even playing music—, etc.?
When you see “enemy” animals forming friendships, what does it say [...]
Tags:
Shel Horowitz Discusses Success with Business Ethics
August 22nd, 2009 · No Comments · Business Ethics, Ethics: General, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies
Corruption Roundup: Many ‘Stories, One URL
August 14th, 2009 · No Comments · Business Ethics, Ethics in Government, Ethics-International, Ethics: General
Exactly how did Bernie Madoff steal his billions? Why are Halliburton’s hands so dirty? What happened with corruption cases in the rebuilding of Iraq? Following a link from EthicsWorld’s e-newsletter, I came to a single URL that has multiple stories on corruption: http://www.ethicsworld.org/publicsectorgovernance/corruptioninvestigations.php#sec.
This is what we’re up against, those of us who believe in ethics.
Google: Plusses and Minuses/Compare with Bing/Privacy Issues
July 12th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Ethics: General, Marketing Trends/News, Transparency vs. Secrecy, Web 2.0/Social Media
Perry Marshall has a really good article about online privacy concerns, the Google experience yay and nay, and Google’s first real competitor in general search–Bing. It’s getting a lot of comments, including this one from me. I discuss not only transparency vs. secrecy, but also the Google user experience, talk about the USP (Unique Selling [...]
Tags: 1984·bing·dystopian novels·fahrenheit 451·google·perry marshall·privacy·transparency
And When Did “Pimp” Become a Positive Verb, Anyway?
May 19th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Ethics: General, language
Call me old-fashioned, but I reject the transition of “pimp” form a negative noun–a man who rents out the bodies of women he controls (and a verb to describe that action)–to a positive verb, to make something look classy and flashy by adding gizmos and gewgaws and bling.
I don’t like it. Pimping is not a [...]
This is Disgusting Anti-Semitism
May 17th, 2009 · No Comments · Ethics: General, People Helping People, Social and Economic Justice, language
Bad enough that Arkansas State Senator Kim Hendren called Chuck Schumer ‘that Jew’–but even worse is the anti-Semitic trash talk from so many readers of the New York Daily News story about it.
Eeeew! In 2009, we should be better than that! In fact, that kind of racist crap should have been unacceptable in 1809. No [...]
Tags: anti-semitism·racism·senator charles schumer·state senator kim hendron
Is It Right to Force Business Owners to Violate Their Beliefs?
May 8th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Business Ethics, Ethics in Government, Ethics: General, Marketing Techniques and Philosophies, Shel's Personal Life, Social and Economic Justice
When someone contacts me regarding my copywriting/consulting services, I send back an e-mail response that includes the following:
Please note that I reserve the right to reject a project if I feel I’m not the right person for it. This would include projects that in my opinion promote racism, homophobia, bigotry or violence–or that promote the tobacco, nuclear power, or weapons industries–or if I do not feel the product is of high enough quality that I can get enthusiastic about it.
In other words, I am putting out my values and stating clearly that I will not accept projects in conflict with my values. I have in fact occasionally turned down projects because they were promoting causes I actively disagree with.
Tags: elane photography·ethics·gay weddings·new mexico human rights·right to refuse work·same-sex marriage
