A Government Ethics Definition of "Ethics"

Most people define "ethics" in a way that doesn't really fit into the
scheme of government ethics, which focuses on conflicts of interest.
Even <a href="http://www.cityethics.org/definitions&quot; target="”_blank”">the definitions
section</a> of this website defines "ethics" as "a major branch of
philosophy that involves analysis of right conduct."<br>
<br>
That's why I was so taken with philosophy professor and novelist
<a href="http://www.rebeccagoldstein.com/&quot; target="”_blank”">Rebecca Newberger Goldstein</a>'s definition of morality, which appears in <a href="http://www.templeton.org/reason/Essays/goldstein.pdf&quot; target="”_blank”">her short
essay</a> in answer to the question, "Does moral action depend on
reasoning?"<ul>

"Morality paradigmatically concerns our obligations toward others, and
moral struggles typically demand that we resist favoring ourselves to
the exclusion of others."</ul>

This definition applies perfectly to government ethics. Dropping the
word "paradigmatically," I think this should become the official
definition of the "ethics" part of government ethics.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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