We seek new resources to promote research, teaching, and engagement on the major social problems of our troubled world. Our work is guided by the conviction that these problems are not only technological but also moral. Your gift will support a range of activities including:

Human Rights Fellowships for Undergraduates
These fellowships are intended to enable students to make a valuable contribution to human rights theory and practice during the summer in which they hold the fellowship and to help students to build human rights work into their future careers, whether those careers are in academic life, in governmental or intergovernmental organizations, as activists, or as legal practitioners.

Hope House Scholars Program
For over ten years, the Center for Ethics in Society has led a special initiative in the liberal arts and engagement with Big Questions. Each quarter of the regular academic year, two Stanford faculty members offer a course in the liberal arts to the residents of Hope House, a residential drug and alcohol treatment facility in Redwood City, CA, for women who were recently incarcerated. Focusing on such themes as ethics, social justice, and moral responsibility, the women of Hope House engage in college-level course work as part of their rehabilitation and recovery. Each year, the Hope House Scholars program engages between five and seven undergraduates as teaching assistants for the Hope House course. The undergraduates work together with the Stanford faculty members to support the learning of the women at Hope House.


The Ethics of Wealth

Human beings have sought to amass wealth but they've also condemned it as a source of human corruption. Social science, theology, and philosophy have long been home to intense debates about the implications of wealth for happiness, virtue, justice, and democracy. Artists and writers, too, have critically explored the relationship between money and humanity. In this initiative, we will explore the ethical questions at the heart of wealth. What's the relationship between financial success and a flourishing human life? Does wealth make people happy? Is inheritance legitimate? Is large wealth inequality fair? Are large wealth inequalities damaging to a democracy? What are the moral obligations of the wealthy to those in need?


 

If you would like to speak to a staff member about directing your contribution to a particular Center's initiative, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Joan Berry at 650.723.0997 or via email at [email protected].