ABSTRACT
Since civic virtue is served — or disserved — to the degree that decisions are made in a manner that makes central their moral significance,
such a headline has, unfortunately, the ring of truth. Indeed, in the period of history that saw actions by the highest elected official in the United States which were called “reprehensible” and “egregious” by members of his own political party, many of America’s social institutions, in addition to the presidency, have also sustained damage. Evidence of such harm is all too easy to identify:
• Of biomedical researchers in the United States who were accused of scientific fraud and subjected to formal investigation, one-half were found to have committed misconduct.
