Ethical Blind Spots

You’re not living up to the ethical standard that you think you are. That’s one of the core messages of “Blind Spots: Why We Fail to Do What’s Right and What to Do About it” (Princeton University Press), a new book by university professors Max H. Bazerman and Ann E. Tenbrunsel, which examines why people overestimate their ability to do what’s right, and why they act unethically without meaning to. “Ethics interventions have failed and will continue to fail because they are predicated on a false assumption: that individuals recognize an ethical dilemma when it is presented to them,” write Bazerman and Tenbrunsel, explaining one of the important implications of their findings.

With the above in mind, I contacted Tenbrunsel by phone to discuss “Blind Spots.” Among other things, we addressed why traditional ethics interventions are inadequate, and why people don’t notice or report the ethical failures of others.

To read the interview visit: Ethical Blind Spots.

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