University of Botswana Law Journal - PULP
University of Botswana Law Journal - PULP
University of Botswana Law Journal - PULP
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153<br />
COMMENTS<br />
Principled leadership: Finding common ground among<br />
divergent philosophies*<br />
ABSTRACT<br />
V. D. Lopez**<br />
This opinion piece tentatively explores the interrelationship among the various<br />
competing ethical philosophies and the political systems they inform and notes<br />
some <strong>of</strong> the qualities shared by effective principled leaders that transcend<br />
irreconcilable philosophical differences and foster fair decision making<br />
regardless <strong>of</strong> the school <strong>of</strong> ethics from which a leader's personal ethics are<br />
derived.<br />
1. INTRODUCTION<br />
The quest to discover ethical truths has led Western philosophers down some<br />
very different paths throughout the past three millennia. Even a cursory<br />
examination <strong>of</strong> the field quickly reveals irresolvable tensions among<br />
irreconcilable points <strong>of</strong> view. Unfortunately, the discussion <strong>of</strong> ethical standards<br />
and the societal, political and moral norms they inform <strong>of</strong>ten occurs without an<br />
attempt to define terms or provide context for meaningful debate. A brief<br />
overview <strong>of</strong> some <strong>of</strong> the leading divergent philosophies is a good starting point<br />
to any meaningful discussion on ethics, its impact on public policy and its role<br />
in the making <strong>of</strong> a principled leader.<br />
2. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF SOME TRADITIONAL<br />
SCHOOLS OF ETHICS<br />
Ethical Absolutism<br />
Ethical absolutism is an ethical philosophy with many diverse branches all tied<br />
in to the central idea that there are certain universal standards by which to<br />
measure morality. Under this broad branch <strong>of</strong> ethics, concepts such as good and<br />
evil and right and wrong have a separate existence that can be discovered and<br />
* This opinion piece is based in part on an essay by the author on principled leadership that was posted to<br />
leaderethics.com in 2005.<br />
** Associate Pr<strong>of</strong>essor <strong>of</strong> Legal Studies in Business, H<strong>of</strong>stra <strong>University</strong>, Frank G. Zarb School <strong>of</strong> Business,<br />
Hempstead, New York. The author gratefully acknowledges the support <strong>of</strong> a summer research grant from<br />
the Zarb School <strong>of</strong> Business that facilitated research, writing, and revision <strong>of</strong> several articles and this<br />
opinion piece.
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