The Ethics of Influence

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

John Henry Newman once claimed that truth is upheld in the world not by systems, books, or arguments, but by “personal influence.” How might Newman’s statement apply in our era — one with declining in-person social interactions and a rise in online "influencers," personalized advertising, and parasocial (one-sided) relationships? Today, influence gurus peddle persuasion tactics, and it seems everyone has something to promote. Can we still discover the line between ethical influence and manipulation? This course explores this question through a deep look at the nature, danger, and promise of influence as seen in classic and contemporary texts and sources on Christian ethics. Classic texts will include Plato’s Phaedrus, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Students will examine the popular advice from some of the past century’s best-selling self-help and business books, including Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini, and You Have More Influence Than You Think by Vanessa Bohns. Students will learn to analyze each approach through the lens of Christian ethics, drawing from Neo-Thomist, Girardian, and Personalist thought as well as from papal encyclical letters. Through contemporary case studies — including a look at the life of the recently-canonized Saint Carlo Acutis (“God’s Influencer”) — students will develop a robust framework for ethical persuasion. The course will culminate with each student composing a personal charter for his or her ethical influence. Whereas much of the professional writing about influence tends to sever professional life from personal values and purpose, this course will integrate them, resulting in a coherent and normative vision of the influential life.