02.109 Ethics of Leadership

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This course will deal with the specific ethical issues arising from a position of leadership. “With great power comes great responsibility”, said a famous superhero. What exactly does this moral responsibility entail? Does the leader have specific obligations? Does his position confer more, or other, rights? What do we mean by a “good” leader? Is it only a matter of efficiency, or does the “good” also involve a specific ethical capability? Does good leadership mean the same thing in different contexts – war, business, politics? Is a good leader the same as a just leader? What mechanisms of accountability does or should leadership entail?

The course will envisage proceed by envisaging different types of leadership, on the basis of texts and case-studies. We will discuss general ethical theories, and dimensions of human activity more concerned with ethics of leadership: politics, war, business, science, art, family, religion, etc. We will look at connected themes, such as authority, power, governance, to delineate the concept of leadership more precisely, and look at the ethical scope of this particular dimension of human life.

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Instructor
Christine Anne Habbard