How ethical can we be?

I would like to appreciate the scholarly comments in this discussion on “How ethical can we be?” Heskett (2011) asseverates that an investigative study brought to bear that “ethicists who teach the subject are less likely to return library books associated with their research than the general public is to return books that it borrows.” This is interesting. Most people would have expected that scholars should not only philosophize, but also actually practice what they profess. If someone is teaching ethics, but his/her private/public life is devoid of ethical values, then such a teacher needs help. Such an ethicist ought to become a scholar-practitioner. Krishna (Prabhupada, 2011) asserts that “whatever action a great man performs, common men follow; and whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, the entire world pursues.” Unfortunately, in the 21st century – subsumed in the Kali-yuga or Iron Age, which is predominantly characterized by hypoc risy and quarrels – people do not walk their talks, but this is uninspiring. It is not surprising, therefore, that even great policy formulators become victims of the very laws they enact and promulgate.