“When a habit emerges, the brain stops fully participating in decision-making,” according to Charles Duhigg, author of the business best-seller, The Power of Habit. This course is about the ethical challenges we face in the “Twilight Zone” of thinking: the habits, hidden assumptions, blind spots, intuitions, instincts, and other foggy pathways of our brains. It focuses on pitfalls and practices to avoid them, including harnessing the power of habit to lead a better, more ethical life.
Course ID: HABIT
Ethics Can Be Habit-Forming: Bad Habits, Good Habits and Turning One into the Other
Learning Objectives
- In this course, we think about not thinking – because that’s often the way we make important ethical decisions.
- We do things out of habit, when we’re distracted, or because of fear or stress or pressure, or because they trigger often-unconscious beliefs or biases.
- The purpose of this course goes beyond just making better ethical decisions to leading more perceptive and powerful lives.
Major Topics
- The power – and problems – of habits; making them your friends
- The “righteous mind” – why we think we’re right – and they are wrong
- Getting our stories straight – and how it can change our lives
- Blind spots – what we’re missing
- Thinking about the unthinkable – negotiating fear and stress
- Technological distraction – multitasking our minds
Who Should Attend
Anyone who might wrestle with ethical issues, especially anyone in a leadership role
Fields of Study
Behavioral EthicsPrerequisites
Recommended for those in Leadership roles