Herbert Simon: "Is's" and "Oughts" After Sixty Years

Abstract

In his seminal book Administrative Behavior, Herbert Simon asserted that administrative decisions consist of facts and values, the former objective, the latter subjective. Simon argued that ethical propositions are, by their very nature, contextual, relativistic, and based upon value judgments. The preeminence of Simon's view of ethics has left scholars looking for a foundation upon which to build an ethical system for public administrators. This article evaluates the logic of Simon's arguments and presents evidence that there are transcendent moral principles. The implications of transcendent morals and their application to public administrators and instructors are discussed.

Keywords:

• ethics
• ethics in public administration