Comments on: Ethics by Pronouncement

By: Weekend Roundup at Steven Landsburg | The Big Questions: Tackling the Problems of Philosophy with Ideas from Mathematics, Economics, and Physics

Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:32:08 +0000

[...] for the first time, I scolded Randy Cohen, the New York Times’s “ethicist”, for his shallowness and refusal to [...]

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:22:33 +0000

Re: “I feel like a trained economist is applying his skills and knowledge in a way I might not think to.”

I agree that the value in Harford’s column is in contrasting it with the traditional questions page. I always assumed that Harford’s point was to be a trained economist answering questions in economics-speak so as to
1. Teach something about nice ideas from economics,
2. Point out the quasi-absurdity of generalizing from nice ideas in economics, and
3. Be funny.

I think that the willful butchery of ethics is the key to 3.

By: MattF

MattF — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:58:15 +0000

I agree that no one should assume that what Cohen says has any particular authority. But a few months ago I spent a weekend with some people who had a interesting approach to his column– they used it as the starting point for regular Sunday morning argument and discussion about ethical questions. This seemed to me to make a good thing out of Cohen’s various lapses and uncertainties. Getting irritated about ethics once a week is not such a bad thing, after all.

By: RL

RL — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:52:31 +0000

From his Wikipedia entry:

Cohen graduated from the University at Albany, SUNY in 1971, with a Bachelor of Arts in music. He spent several years “writing humor pieces, essays, and stories for leading newspapers and magazines”; his first paid, published piece was in 1976 for The Village Voice. In 1981, his book of satiric letters, Modest Proposals, was published by St. Martins Press.
Cohen was a writer on Late Night with David Letterman for 950 episodes over seven years, starting in 1984. He shared in three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for his work on the show.
Cohen wrote for TV Nation, sharing in an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series in 1995. In 1996, he became the original head writer for The Rosie O’Donnell Show.
Cohen wrote for Slate starting in 1996. At Slate, he became known for “News Quiz,” a satiric reader-participation feature which began in February 1998 and ended in November 2000. He also co-wrote a first-season episode of Ed, first broadcast on February 14, 2001.

Sure SEEMS that he’s eminently qualified to write an ethics column…

By: William

William — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 14:41:39 +0000

I went through almost exactly what you’re going through right now, four years ago. “The Ethicist” column used to bother me a lot, but only because I was expecting it to be something it isn’t. It’s an advice column, not a serious discussion of ethics. Still, “The Ethicist” is popular enough that it’s been in print for 10 years; Cohen isn’t going to change the way it’s done, and his readers know what they’re getting by now. Perhaps his readers even like the column the way it is.

For me, the solution was easy. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.

But perhaps reading the introduction of Randy Cohen’s book, in which he offers a defense of his work, will calm your nerves.