Professional Ethical Decision-Making Made Possible

No matter what career you pursue, at some point you’ll have to make difficult ethical decisions.​

Should you serve only sustainable food at your restaurant? Should you fire employees to keep costs down and please stakeholders? If you design your own fashion line, how do you make sure the people making your clothes are treated fairly?

Be ready to lead — and make a difference in the global community — with a minor in Professional Ethics. You’ll take classes like Ethical Analysis, Ethics and Public Policy, and Legal, Medical, Environmental or Business Ethics. Develop the reasoning skills you’ll need to navigate an increasingly complicated world with a lot of gray areas. Graduate prepared to confront challenging issues and work through them in a thoughtful, fair way.

The Professional Ethics minor is part of the Department of Philosophy.

Outside of the Classroom

Food & Philosophy Ethics Series

A recurring event designed to stimulate intellectual conversations about current topics.

Past discussions have centered around topics such as:
  • Decisional Capacity and the Adolescent: Reconsidering the Doctrine of the Mature Minor
  • Genetically Engineering Our Children
  • Drug Peddlers & Politicians: Why Al Capone is Morally Superior to Al Gore

For more info, contact: Dr. Mark J. Cherry, 512-448-8536]

Film Screenings

Watch a film and engage in thoughtful discussion afterward about issues presented in the film.

Examples of past films include:
  • Made in Dagenham
  • The Cantinera
  • Which Way Home

For more info, contact: Jennifer Mata, 512-428-1280

Fusion Discussion Group

Faculty, staff, and students discuss their diverse and distinct perspectives on important and relevant issues. A brief reading is selected for discussion during lunch. Past discussion topics have included:

Meet the Faculty

Research Interests

  • Ethics and bioethics
  • Social and political philosophy
  • Corporate social responsibility
  • The democratic values of inclusion
  • Self-governance in legal studies
  • Applied ethics

Published Work

The faculty in the Philosophy department at St. Edward's University have collectively authored more than 20 books and several dozen articles for professional publications and research journals. These include work for The Annals of Bioethics, the book series Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture, The Journal of the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science, and more.

Why They Teach

"I teach because I believe it is important for students to have an intellectual “tool kit” that will help them succeed in their lives beyond college." Stephen C. Dilley, PhD

"My approach to teaching, like many philosophers, is about asking individuals what an author means and how and why they agree or disagree with the author’s arguments." Jack Musselman, PhD

"I hope that through my courses I’m able to show my students what is possible in the world of knowledge and learning." William J. Zanardi, Ph