But what does all this indicate about the future of ethics at Harvard? Is there really an increasing demand for ethical instruction?

On the undergraduate level, John H. Harvey, assistant director of General Education, says no new course proposals have been submitted this year for classes in ethics, professional or otherwise. But Harvey adds that there are fewer course proposals this year in all departments because of the core curriculum proposal.

Over the last several years, the number of ethically-oriented catalogue offerings has remained relatively constant, Harvey says. "If there is a growing interest in professional ethics, I haven't seen it in the way of course proposals to Gen Ed."

Nevertheless, enrollment in ethics courses is increasing, and enough new ethics courses have been developed in the past five years to exceed the bounds of coincidence.

It is impossible to tell yet whether Harvard is turning out a new generation of altruistic professionals. It is equally possible that the apparent trend toward more courses in career ethics and higher enrollment is simply a response to an increasing student body or a search for more pre-professional courses.

Ethics courses may not make any difference in students' lives anyway. As Ralph B. Potter, professor of Social Ethics at the Div School, says, it is difficult to judge whether ethics can be taught at all. "Courses are great for disseminating ideas, he says, "but ethics must be assimilated through reflection. We cannot suggest to the public that we are going to turn out better people, for there is a mystery to what makes the ideas happen in people's lives."

Perhaps Potter is right, and ethics cannot be taught, but Harvard seems to have accepted that challenge nonetheless.