The Prindle Institute equips people to deepen their understanding of different moral perspectives and to think critically about the inescapable ethical issues of our time. We provide students, educators, community members, and leaders with an extensive suite of ethics education resources in addition to in-person engagement at our stunning campus in the DePauw University Nature Park.
Understanding different moral perspectives requires good faith consideration of other viewpoints. The Prindle Institute is committed to free and open inquiry where multiple perspectives can be expressed, explored, challenged, and debated. At the same time, the Prindle Institute acknowledges that open dialogue is most successful when built on a foundation of respect, inclusion, and equity.
Ethics Education for the Classroom
Our K-12 programming harnesses the power of narrative to create impactful content that equips students with the skills to talk about their own values, civilly engage in dialogue with their peers and recognize moral issues when they arise.
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A space for reflection and conversation
The Prindle Institute’s Great Room features Indiana limestone, locally-harvested wood, and artfully exposed metal beaming that welcomes conversation and dialogue.
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Read and be tranquil
The Wood Library houses DePauw University’s collection of ethics-related books, and the reading room is a space for quiet research and reflection.
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Be heard
Host world-class speakers or welcome high school ethics bowl competitions: Prindle’s Auditorium is spacious and inviting for all.
2007
Prindle Institute is Dedicated
Janet Prindle’s donation of funds for an ethics institution at DePauw came to fruition when the Prindle Institute for Ethics was dedicated in October 2007.
2017
Prindle Celebrates 10 Years
Janet Prindle returns to Greencastle to celebrate 10 years of ethics education, dialogue, and research in the DePauw community and beyond.
What is Ethics?
The study of ethics is not about telling you what the rules are. Ethics is an exploration of questions about the nature of right and wrong. It’s about developing a thoughtful framework to help you decide what you should do when the answers aren’t clear. The Prindle Institute for Ethics is one of the largest collegiate ethics institutes in the country and is dedicated to encouraging and fostering the study of ethics — in all its facets.
Ethics Education
The Prindle Institute for Ethics offers engaging lessons, workshops and materials that teach your students the skills necessary to be strong moral reasoners. Whether you teach civics to 10th graders or have a classroom full of curious second graders, our free lessons introduce students to ethics and engage them on the key moral issues of our time.
Teaching Children Philosophy
Interested in teaching philosophy and ethics to elementary school children? We’ve got over 200 discussion guides designed to help you introduce philosophy and ethics using popular children’s picture books. Each discussion guide will introduce educators to the key philosophical or ethical issues in the picture book. The guides also provide questions to help initiate a philosophical discussion with young children.
