At October 10, 2019, Prof Huber and Prof Pies discussed about the opportunities and limitations of personal and order ethics in course of the inauguration of the doctoral program.
This year´s inauguration and graduation of the doctoral program “Ethics and Responsible Leadership in Business” took place at October 10, 2019. Dr. Martin von Broock, chairman of the WCGE management board, gave the welcoming address. Prof Dr. Dr. h.c. Wolfgang Huber, Bishop ret., former Chairperson of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany and member of the WCGE board of trustees, and Prof Dr. Ingo Pies, chair of Economic Ethics at Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, supervising professor of the doctoral program and member of the WCGE, then discussed about the topic “Personal Ethics meets Order Ethics: A Dispute?”. PD Dr. Lisa Schmalzried, head of the doctoral program, moderated the discussion. Huber argued that many questions can and should be looked at from a perspective of personal ethics as well as of professional or institutional ethics. Personal ethics concentrates on the responsibility of the individuum, professional ethics formulates the moral standards of a profession, institutional ethics focusses on moral questions arising for institutions and companies. In contrast, Pies argued that some questions can only be properly answered by order ethics. Order ethics enquires about the framework which enables and facilitates moral behaviour and prevents unintended negative side effects. If one gives a personal ethical answer to an order ethical question, one does not only commit an error in reasoning, but also expects too much of an individuum according to Pies.
After the panel discussion, Henrike Heierberg, coordinator of the program, gave an presented the doctoral program. Then this year´s graduates of the doctoral program then received their certificates. Elena Hunzinger, Simon Piest, Rebecca Ruehle and Andani Thakhathi successfully finished their three-year membership in the doctoral program and will hand in or defend their doctoral theses in the near future. The inauguration of the six cohorte followed the graduation ceremony. Moritz Appels, Christian Kroll, Hanna Schmidt, Hannah Schragmann, Felix Wittke and Jacqueline Zimmermann are now members of the doctoral program. With the admission of the six cohort, 17 doctoral students from five different countries do their doctorate in the doctoral program.
After a farewell of Prof Dr. Dr. h.c. Klaus Michael Leisinger, founder and president of the Global Values Alliance and co-president of the advisory board of the doctoral progam, the evening ended with a reception and the opportunity for further exchange.