“When (and How) to Say ‘No’”--Graham Parsons (Vassar)

Many professionals, including academics, are under institutional pressure to violate the norms of their vocations. This puts these professionals in a fraught and painful situation. Of course, we have obligations to refuse to compromise professional values. But it isn’t so simple. It can be unclear when professional values are being violated instead of merely stretched. It can also be unclear if refusal is the best way to protect professional values in the long term. And, even when refusal is required, it can be unclear what form resistance should take. Based on the author’s personal experiences grappling with these issues, this public talk will reflect on the ethics of navigating institutions that are being corrupted.

Graham Parsons is visiting professor of philosophy at Vassar College and an adjunct instructor at the Bard Prison Initiative. Last May he resigned from West Point in protest of its abandonment of academic freedom. His research and teaching focus on professional and practical ethics.