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Summary

Ethics Class 01

## A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE SYLLABUS- 5:02 PM

- **1. Theory:**
- Ethics in the Human Interface
- Role of socialization
- Attitude
- Emotional intelligence
- Moral thinkers
- Aptitude + fundamental values
- **2. Application:**
- Ethics in Public Administration
- Probity in Governance
- **3. Case Study:** Case studies
- **Pillars of Ethics Paper-**
- Syllabus
- Terminologies
- **Hatred -**Feeling pf extreme dislike towards someone.
- It is a negative emotion.
- Hatred is destructive of individuals' wisdom and inner conscience.
- It has implications at the individual level.
- It creates a vicious cycle of negativity and harms the person who has this emotion.
- **For example-** Hitler, Duryodhan, etc.
- It not only has implications for individuals but also for society.
- **Examples-** Caste conflicts, Communal violence, and ethnic conflict.
- It also impacts nations as it threatens demographic dividend.
- It also has an impact at the global level like the Russia-Eukraine conflict.

## ETHICS, INTEGRITY & APTITUDE- 5:29 PM

- **Aptitude-**
- Professional competency.
- Proficiency in a specific area.
- Specialized skill set to perform a task.
- Innate/Inherent
- Potential to acquire the specialized skill set.
- It can be natural or acquired.
- **Intelligence** refers to the ability to gain knowledge.
- Having the aptitude is the necessary condition to ensure efficiency in any organization.
- However, in the absence of ethics, the same aptitude becomes a threat.
- **Example-** Dr. A.Q Khan vs. APJ Abdul Kalam
- **Ethics:** It is defined as a prescriptive code of conduct for an actor in a situation w.r.t rightness/wrongness of an action.
- **Example-** A criminal is terminally ill, your personal morality says he deserves to die but being a doctor the medical ethics says the patient needs to be saved.
- **Integrity:** When the path of righteousness is followed across time and space it is referred to as integrity.
- Reliability in ethical conduct.
- An honest official is one who might after taking the bribe confess to his crime, however, a person with integrity will never even think of committing the corruption.
- Ethics is external and can be forced upon as integrity is a quality and it comes from within.
- **Characteristic features of a person with integrity-**
- **1. Responsibility assumption-** A person with integrity will never run away from his responsibility example- Dr. Satish Dhawan took responsibility for the failure of the space project in 1975.
- **2. Manifest humility -** For example- Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was known for his exceptional humility i.e. despite achieving great heights in his career he was very approachable and down to earth.
- **3. Honesty in all actions-** Irrespective of circumstances people will make honest choices.
- Example- TN Seshan introduced election reforms, Ashok Khemka faced record transfers, Rajni Sekhri Sibal JBT scam, Poonam Mala Kondia, etc.
- **4. They promote the interest of others before serving the vested interest,** For Example- in the race between Evan Anaya, and Abel Mutayi in which the runner-up won the race of integrity.
- **Significance of Integrity:**
- 1. It improves individual credibility in society- ex-Sachin Tendulkar.
- 2. One will have the potential to emerge as a great leader by acting as a role model for society. ex-Lal Bahadur Shashtri.
- 3. It creates prospects for career growth by promoting professionalism for example- Ratan Tata.
- 4. A person with integrity has nothing to fear not there is no sense of guilt hence it promotes a sense of fulfillment. ex-socio-religious reformers
- 5. It gives us courage for example- Sam Makeksaw

## SIGNIFICANCE OF ETHICS- 6:13 PM

- **Individual:**
- Sense of joy
- Peace of mind
- Courage
- Credibility
- Overall social status
- Interpersonal relations improve
- **Societal:**
- It reduces social conflict.
- Correct the stereotypes and prejudices.
- It will promote or strengthen social capital.
- Peace and harmony.
- Ram Rajya -Morally virtuous society
- Unity in diversity

## CONCEPT OF VAME - 6:22 PM

- VAME
- What are these concepts?
- What are they made up of?
- **Characteristic features:**
- a. Static vs, Dynamic
- b. Culture-specific vs. Universal
- c. Absolute vs. relative
- d. Subjective vs. objective
- Their interrelationship
- How do they develop - Socialization
- **VAME (Value, Aptitude, Moral, Ethics)-**
- It refers to a mental construct that acts as an instrument of behavior regulation. it is responsible for :
- 1. Guiding our decision making
- 2. Influencing our choices
- 3. Directing our behavior
- **Made up of:** They are made up of three things belief, emotion, and action tendency.
- **Belief-** It is an internal feeling that something is true, it refers to the conviction with which we accept something to be true even without evidence.
- It is rooted in tradition, customs, myths superstition, verifiable facts, etc.
- There are two types of belief: **Core & Peripheral**
- Both can be challenged and peripheral beliefs can be easily changed.
- **Values-** Long-lasting beliefs based on preference with respect to desirable or undesirable are referred to **as a value.**
- **Emotions:** It is defined as bodily arousal which is a reaction to an event either internal or external.
- **Action tendency-** It refers to the desire for action, however, it does not guarantee action.
- X believes corruption is wrong which has generated an emotion of anger toward the corrupt people, however, it does not guarantee that X will blow the whistle.

## CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES- 7:02 PM

- **Static vs Dynamic**
- They are relatively permanent.
- They are the source of our identity.
- It requires a lot of investment of time, energy, cost, etc.
- However, it can be **accommodated in full ways-**
- **1.** Accommodating different behaviors under the same set of values.
- **2.** Sometimes the value system changes due to changes in the environment for example radicalization of youth by anti-social elements.
- **3.** Sometimes there is an immediate change in the value system due to some enlightening experience for example- Ashok after the Kalinga war, Gautam Buddha, Maharishi Valmiki).

## CULTURE-SPECIFIC vs UNIVERSAL - 7:21 PM

- Values are those adhesive that binds people in society together.
- For any society to survive it requires stability and harmony.
- One of the prerequisites.
- Moral consensus.
- Hence values are **culture-specific**- for example with respect to Indian society-  Collectivism, cooperation, familial obedience, religious orientation, and delayed gratification.
- There are some values that are **common across-** Love, compassion, happiness, integrity, etc.

## Topic for the next class: Absolute vs relative, Subjective vs objective, Inter-relationship and Socialization