Student Notices

The department of management Studies presents Ethics and The Lord of the Rings, "One Ring to Rule Them All a weekly seminar series for students facilitated by Professor Surendra Arjoon, PhD (Professor of Business & Professional Ethics), on Thursdays 1pm-4pm at Room 106, Department of Management Studies.

Why be moral? Can we justify choosing a moral life even when the immoral life is more rewarding? If an immoral life leads to wealth, power, and fame while a morally virtuous life leads to poverty, powerlessness, and abuse, then why be moral? Plato’s response is simple: the immoral life is a worse life than a morally virtuous life because ultimately the immoral life corrupts the soul of the immoralist. The immoral life leads to fundamental unhappiness: mental anguish, the loss of friends and loved ones, and emotional bankruptcy. All the power in the world cannot compensate for the psychological emptiness of an immoral life. The moral person, in contrast, lives a life of integrity and personal fulfillment, even if he or she is limited in power, wealth, and fame. Moral persons are at peace with themselves.

(Katz, Eric 2003. The Rings of Tolkien and Plato. In The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy: One Book to Rule Them All, Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson (eds.), Open Court: Illinois).