We want our friends, colleagues, and certainly our heroes to be people of integrity; we don’t seek out hypocrites, liars or cowards for company or leadership. But a moment’s reflection on the demands of integrity may lead us to question this apparent truism. People of integrity may be confrontational, awkward, humorless, offensive, and even occasionally mad. Are there limits to integrity? Do we know how to combine the demands of morality with other virtues that make up good lives?

Concept: Amber Carpenter, York; Susan Neiman, Potsdam; Rachael Wiseman, Durham
Participants: Jeremy Bendik-Keymer, Cleveland, Ohio; Karl Heinz Bohrer, London; Konstanty Gebert, Warschau; Volker Gerhardt, Berlin; Nora Hangel, Konstanz; Larissa MacFarquhar, New York; Matthew Maguire, Chicago; Gesine Schwan, Berlin; David Shulman, Jerusalem; Carl Tham, Stockholm; Dieter Thomä, St. Gallen