Not many people hear the phrase “ethics lecture” and picture a rollicking good time. Yet, the right speaker can supply a breath of fresh air to a subject which could easily become stuffy and solemn.
Alexander McCall Smith delivered a lecture titled “Fictional People, Real Issues,” Friday addressing the social obligations of writers and how his study of ethics has impacted his writing.
McCall Smith — best known for penning the “The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency” series about a woman who starts her own detective business in Botswana — is an internationally bestselling author and an expert in bioethics. He worked as a professor of medical law before dedicating himself to a career of fiction writing spanning many genres, including detective novels, short stories, children’s books and philosophical and academic works.
“I hope you won’t consider me immodest for focusing on my own novels,” the writer began.
After this bit of charming humility, McCall Smith delved into a gently persuasive lecture on the ethics of forgiveness, which posited that our increasingly post-religious world often emphasizes the necessity of accountability over the virtues of forgiveness.
“Forgiveness acknowledges that a single act may not be indicative of long-term character traits,” McCall Smith said.
This statement was not intended as interpersonal relationship advice. McCall Smith said he hopes it will be applied on the scale of international diplomacy, citing examples such as former IRA Commander Martin McGuinness’s reconciliatory handshake with Queen Elizabeth II and Nelson Mandela’s call for forgiveness rather than revenge after his release from prison.
McCall Smith said he sees fiction as an opportunity to discuss morality without alienating readers through proselytization. His detective series elevates forgiveness by deviating from the classic template of finding and punishing the offender. Instead, Precious Ramotswe, the protagonist of the “No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency,” often finds alternative peacemaking solutions.
Acknowledging critics have called his writing trite or utopian, McCall Smith professed the alternative is the amoral and often gratuitously violent cultural depictions seen in many books and films today. Though he did not claim authors and filmmakers are obligated to create a moral structure, McCall Smith said he believes in the power of authors, filmmakers and other creators to influence social values.
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