What is the formal academic training in ethics and moral philosophy that cadets receive here?
It’s not that easy a question to answer, because I think what you’re driving at is the ethical component of character development, and we view that as a much broader issue than what cadets receive in the classroom. The Academy has a mission, like every organization, and an important part of that mission is graduating commissioned leaders of character. That raises the question of what we mean by that term. West Point has in fact published a definition: “A leader of character seeks to discover the truth, decide what is right, and demonstrate the courage and commitment to act accordingly.” You talk about the warrior spirit. Has that definition evolved over the past few decades that you’ve been here? I don’t think that it’s changed much at all. What has changed is our attempt to understand the process of character development and to enhance that process. And what evolution has occurred there? By introspection and heightened awareness of the interaction between personal experience and inst
