Bok: Nations Must Share Goals

Countries must make concerted efforts to respond to global crises, Sissela Bok said at a speech last night at the Kennedy School of Government.

In a speech entitled "The Search for a Shared Ethics," Bok, a noted author on ethical issues, told the audience of 150 that people must acknowledge their moral responsibilities before contemporary global problems can be solved.

Bok, a former professor of philosophy at Brandeis University, called for "an inquiry into a common ethics, given the nature and scope of the overwhelming threats which societies now confront together."

Bok, who is married to former University President Derek C. Bok, noted the extent of current suffering and unprecedented environmental risks, and said that countries must increase their efforts to coordinate responses to such crises.

But she added that differing conceptions of truth and justice might make such a concerted effort difficult.

"[It has become harder] to fathom how~~ truth and justice could have anything like the same meaning the world over--say to a New Guinea headhunter and a computer programmer in Silicon Valley or to militant enemy groups in the Middle East," Bok said.

She also said the media raises awareness of atrocities around the world, forcing citizens around the world to acknowledge events outside their daily lives.

"It becomes ever more difficult to maintain that the victims are somehow so different from the viewing public that their plight cannot be evaluated from outside...that outsiders are duty bound to look the other way," she said.

The event was sponsored by the Program in Ethics and the Professions, a University-wide program which encourages teaching and research about ethical issues.