29 September to 6 October

In Search of Ethical Environments

Ethical conduct is independent from doctrine. At best, doctrine advocates ways in which we might relate to others and at worst, inhibits a more natural, unselfish love of others. It may lead us to treat complex interactions, embedded in increasingly interdependent and evolving global environments, as if they were simple. The intellectual understanding of right and wrong embedded in doctrine is distinct from and cannot ensure the emotional capital, which is necessary to enable us to act morally when confronted with disturbing, complex dilemmas. 'Playing the game', political or otherwise, involves detaching the emotions and can rapidly become immoral.

Emotional strength feeds morality but the increasingly driven contexts in which we interact limit, above all, the effective exercise and refurbishment of our emotional capacity. We need to foster emotional capital which forges moral, life-giving, life-enhancing communities. This requires frequent positive interaction and the development of profound empathy between people. Such empathy emerges over time, through deep understanding, and is enabled via one to one and predominantly non-verbal interaction, in relaxed and informal surroundings. How can we best create living, working and learning environments in which profound empathy is nurtured and the emotional detachment of survival becomes a very last resort?

Bridget Cooper, Reader in ICT and Education, Carnegie Faculty of Sport and Education