The Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs at San Diego State University seeks to promote critical thinking about moral issues that are often complex in nature. The Institute aims to be a resource to members of the campus community, the larger community of scholars, and the greater San Diego community who wish to pursue thoughtful discussion and research as a means of clarifying moral problems. It also aims to raise the profile of the moral implications of current events. The Institute is housed in the Philosophy Department, but seeks interdisciplinary discussion and collaboration since clarity on contemporary moral problems often involves both the application of normative theorizing and empirical investigation. The Institute organizes and sponsors a variety of programs on applied and theoretical moral issues. Among these programs are colloquia, community outreach talks, lectures, and student essay contests.

"The student of Ethics seeks to attain systematic and precise general knowledge of what ought to be, and in this sense his aims and methods may properly be termed 'scientific'..."
-- Henry Sidgwick, The Methods of Ethics

Major funding for the Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs was provided by a generous donation from the James Hervey Johnson Charitable Educational Trust.