The Ethicist blog

[DudeAsInCool]

Randy Cohen at the New York TimesMagazine answers reader's questions weekly on the question of ethics. I haven't run across a blog like this on the web and think it's worth checking out.

Here is a sample:

Our university requires us students to write anonymous evaluations of our professors.

On one evaluation, a student made derogatory comments about a professor’s sexual orientation. The university hired a handwriting expert to confirm the identity of the culprit so punishment could be administered. The university claims the student broke the code of conduct, but if anonymity was promised, is this investigation ethical? — S.C., GEORGIA

The university should not pursue this investigation. Even if a student violated its code of conduct by making a homophobic slur, for the university to abandon its pledge of anonymity is a cure worse than the disease."

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