IANH Youth Group organized a Workshop on "Ethics and Values" on Saturday, March 15, 2008 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Kumon Center, Nashua. Workshop was conducted by Prof. Annabel Beerel, who is Professor of Ethics at the Southern New Hampshire University. Prof. Beerel was recently was named the Chair for the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Distinguished Chair in Ethics. 16 members of the youth group and eight parents attended the workshop. We would like to thank Archana and Sashank Dubey of Nashua Kumon Center for providing us with the facility to conduct the workshop.

The workshop began with welcome remarks and introduction of Prof. Beerel by the youth group coordinator Pratheek Kalyanpu. Prof. Beerel then spoke about the importance of ethics and values in our lives. Prof. Beerel’s presentation was very lucid, thought-provoking and inspiring. She keenly engaged the workshop participants for full two hours. Those present asked many questions that Prof. Beerel answered very well. Half-way through her presentation she presented a case study “One Leg Up”. This case study contained certain ethical dilemmas that led to a very animated discussion with the audience.

Youth Group Chair Deepa Mangalat proposed a vote of thanks and the audience gave a big applause to Prof. Beerel for an excellent workshop. Deepa distributed certificates to the youth group members who attended the workshop. At the end of the workshop, the kids went to Food and Fashion, where they were treated to free pizza by Food and Fashion.

Some of the quotes from Prof. Beerel’s presentation are given below:
We make choices and decisions all the time. In as sense, we are “choice making machines”. What we are today and where we are today is a result of the choices we have made until now. We are the accumulation of choices we have made. The fact that you are attending this workshop is the result of choice you made. Therefore, how to make the right choices is the most important topic of our lives.
Ethics and values are about how we make those choices. We are guided by our values and ethical principles in making the choices. Many of these ethical principles are in conflict with each other. While we follow one ethical principle, we may be violating another ethical principle.
Ethics is a cognitive discipline, concerned about the study of ethical principles. Ethics as discipline is always evolving, e.g., environmental ethics was never as important as it has now become. On the other hand, morality is the norms, standards, customs and beliefs of a group, community or society. Being moral is to act according to those standards, which may or not be ethical.
We make choices depending on what we value the most, which can be categorized as follows:

• Character: What I want to become? What I want to be able to say to myself when I make the choice?
• Duty: I want to do my duty. I want to follow the rules.
• Outcome: I am concerned with the final outcome. To me the end justifies the means.
• Relationship: I would do what is good for the people I care about.

Ethics is about questioning of our choices. We should never stop questioning our choices. Leading an ethical life is about maintaining this questioning attitude when making our choices. It is important since every choice we make is part of what we would become.