1
Summary
Ethics Class 02

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PREVIOUS CLASS (5:03 PM)

  • Faculty explained why PYQs are important and why students need to focus on PYQs and prepared a theme based on it. 
  • Faculty revised Values, Attitudes, Morals, and Ethics and their inter-relationship. 
  • Compassion = Empathy + Desire for action. 
  • Note:
  • Antipathy: I am against this person
  • Apathy: Indifferent towards others
  • Sympathy: To pity someone
  • Empathy: I will imaginatively put myself in the shoes of others and feel the pain
  • Compassion: I am able to understand the situation and help to alleviate the pain
  • For e.g. Awanish Sharan an IAS officer introduces the concept of a bike ambulance for the tribal population of Chattisgarh 

ABSOLUTE VERSUS RELATIVE (5:20 PM)

  • "Truth is a truth even if no one speaks, a lie is a lie even if everyone speaks". 
  • Something right or wrong for all time to come. 
  • There cannot be the wrong way of doing the right things. Hence means are important.
  • For example: Jumping a traffic signal to save someone's life is not justified. similarly, the concept of Robinhood is also not justified 
  • However, this approach has too much rigidity and a certain amount of flexibility is required to successfully interact with the environment.
  • Hence relative aspect is preferable because the decision can be made based on the situation 
  • For example:  the story of Sage when he took pride in the fact that he always spoke the truth however it resulted in the killing of a young man. 
  • According to Buddha "Being kind is more important than being right "
  • Hence it is said to evaluate the rightness of an action it is important to understand the intention behind the action. 

SUBJECTIVE VERSUS OBJECTIVE (5:35 PM)

  • The value is not the property of the object but the judgment of the subject. For example: Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholders. 
  • However, if values are evaluated irrespective of the individual, it is referred to as objective. For example: According to Plato, beauty is a value independent of the individual. 
  • However, there are some values which exist independent of the individuals. For example: wisdom, compassion, love etc 
  • Note: Wisdom = Intelligence + Morality. 
  • However, the values can be objective but their manifestation can be subjective. For example - Cinema has often glorified stalking as a manifestation of love. 
  • Note:  Kindly refer to the flowchart made by the faculty in this regard. 
  • Long-lasting beliefs based on preference with respect to desirable and undesirable become the values
  • Values result in morals and ethics:
  • When it is seen through the prism of right and wrong.
  • Only those values which can be seen through the prism of right and wrong, those values become morals at the individual level and ethics at the societal level
  • Honesty, integrity, courage - all these values can be seen through the prism of right and wrong. 
  • Morals when accepted at the societal level become ethics
  • Ethics when practiced at the individual level becomes morals
  • Morals are individual standards of right and wrong and Ethics is a framework with respect to right and wrong
  • Value and Attitude: 
  • When values are tied to an object it is referred to as attitude. 
  • Attitude depicts the readiness of the psyche to act or react in a certain way. 
  • On hand, values are general and not related to any object whereas attitude is specific and is always oriented towards distinct objects. 
  • Values represent what ought to be whereas attitudes are well-established thoughts which reflect the likeliness to behave in a particular manner. 
  • Values are derived from culture, traditions, family etc. Hence are relatively more enduring. 
  • However, attitude is also determined by personal experiences. Hence, is relatively less enduring. 
  • For example: respect is a value but that does not guarantee you will be respectful towards everyone. 
  • Home assignment: learn Gandhiji's seven sins. 

MORALS AND ETHICS (6:13 PM)

Parameters

Ethics

Morals

Concept

What is the right way to act in a situation by an actor

Standards of behaviour which individuals have set for themselves with respect to right or wrong

Source

External/society

Internal/ Individual

 Why do we follow?

Because society says it is the right thing to do.

Because we believe it is right

What if we deviate? 

It might lead to social exclusion, boycotts, or social ostracization.

The feeling of guilt, anxiety, remorse

Flexibility

Collective proposition of society hence more objective as compared to morals.

Varies from individual to individual hence more subjective
  • Situation: With respect to administrative officials, there exists a situation where person X is poor, hungry and starving but does not have a linked ration card. 
  • Morality: It says gives the ration to the person. 
  • Administrative Ethics: follow the rules in every situation. 
  • Assignment question: What do you understand by values and Ethics? In what way it is important to be ethical along with being professionally competent? (150 words /10 marks)

QUERY HANDLING  (6:49 PM)

CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE (COC) (7:02 PM)

  • The conscience is defined as the intuitive authoritative judgment with respect to the moral quality of actions. 
  • A crisis of conscience can be defined as a situation where you worry because :
  • 1. You think, you have done something wrong. 
  • 2. You had a dilemma between the two options and you were compelled to take action against your conscience. 
  • 3. There exists a feeling of guilt. 
  • For example:
  • A. State of mind of Arjun before Kurukshetra 
  • B. You wanted to build a career in social service but because of financial responsibility, you chose an economically lucrative career. 
  • C. The dilemma of medical professionals with respect to generic v/s branded medicine.
  • D. Inertia to appear as a witness in criminal cases. 
  • E. Forcefully dispersing the crowd engaged in peaceful protest. 
  • Integrity, courage and wisdom are required to overcome the crisis. 
  • "Conscience is like a dog which never bites but never stops barking "
  • Question: What is meant by ‘crisis of conscience"? Narrate one incident in your life when you were faced with such a crisis and how you resolved the same. (150 words/10 marks)

NORMS (7:19 PM)

  • Norms are one of the sources of ethics. 
  • They are referred to as informal guidelines which act as guiding principles of behavior
  • They are agreed upon by the societal members and it is binding on all members of society
  • They are referred to as "social expectations" or tools of social control to ensure uniformity, and conformity and to check deviance. 
  • However if one digresses from the norms it might lead to a social boycott social exclusion or social ridiculing or social ostracization or scolding. 
  • For example, Early marriage wrt girls, arrange marriage, universalisation of marriage, the hetero-sexual norm of marriage
  • For example - Bhanwari Devi's example --> precursor for Vishaka guidelines ---> SHE acts. 
  • The higher stage of the evolution of norms is referred to as laws. 

THE TOPICS FOR THE NEXT CLASS ARE LAWS AND ETHICS AND SOCIALIZATION.