Universities, Cultural Diversity and Global Ethics 81across the globe. The account of them that follows is based on published
research by Prozesky, suitably shortened, edited and updated. (Prozesky
2007: 141-44).
An early venture in this direction was given by the Catholic
theologian, Hans Küng. Together with others he helped produce a
statement of the values shared by the most widely followed faiths.
(Küng and Moltmann, 1990) Based on this work Küng and his
associates produced a document called "Declaration of a Global Ethic"
with what they called “Four irrevocable directives”, present to some
extent in the various faith traditions. Firstly, there must be a culture of
non-violence and respect for life. Secondly, people must commit
themselves to solidarity and a just economic order. The third principle is
that people must commit themselves to tolerance and a life of
truthfulness. Commitment to equal rights and partnership between men
and women is the fourth principle offered by the Declaration. (Küng and
Kuschel 1993: 24-34).
It ends with some dramatic words:
“Together we can move mountains! Without a willingness to take
risks and a readiness to sacrifice there can be no fundamental
change in our situation! Therefore we commit ourselves to a
common global ethic, to better mutual understanding, as well as
to socially-beneficial, peace-fostering, and Earth-friendly ways of
life! We invite all men and women, whether religious or not, to
do the same.”
(Küng and Kuschel 1993:36)
A problem with this approach is its omission of traditional African
and other ethnic cultures, some feminist voices and secular approaches
to morality (Prozesky 2007: 143). A rather more inclusive approach to
global ethics was developed by the late Rushworth M. Kidder at the
Institute for Global Ethics in the USA, using conversations with ethical