Published by Emmis Books, 192 pages, $17.95
Dr. Bruce Weinstein is a nationally known ethics expert. His ”Ask the Ethics Guy” weekly segment on CNN and syndicated column with Knight Ridder/Tribune advise people how to make ethical decisions.
His new book, Life Principles – Feeling Good By Doing Good, is a primer on ethical decision-making using five principles: 1) do no harm; 2) make things better; 3) respect others; 4) be fair; and 5) be loving. Bruce illustrates ways for applying each principle in everyday situations through advice-column-style questions and answers. The book also includes an Ethics IQ test so that readers can see how they rate.
Ethical questions can range from whether to ignore offensive humor at work, to rectifying a long-standing feud. ”Whenever we ask, ’What should I do?’ and our decision is likely to affect the rights or welfare of another person, we are asking an ethical question,” he explains.
Bruce believes Americans are living in a particularly unethical time with fear, guilt, and self-interest getting in the way of doing the right thing. He writes, ”The Golden Rule is not, contrary to how many people act these days: Do unto others before they do unto you.”
He asserts, ”Ethical conduct is not only consistent with winning in every aspect of one’s life-it is instrumental to doing so.”
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