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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