Ethics and Human Interface
- Differentiate between selfishness, narcissism and self-care. Discuss how narcissism affects ethical decision-making. (10 Marks)
Model Structure
Meaning of these terms -
- Selfishness - Focussing upon one's own advantage to the exclusion of regard for others. Lacking consideration for others; concerned with one's own personal profit or pleasure. (Not sharing the food with friends)
- Narcissism - Excessive interest in one's self and one's physical appearance. Extreme selfishness with a grandiose view of one's talents and attractiveness, having a consistent craving for admiration.
- Self-care refers to one's ability to take care of the activities of daily living, such as feeding oneself, showering, brushing one's teeth, wearing clean clothes, and attending to medical concerns. Self-care is a very active and powerful choice to engage in the activities that are required to gain or maintain an optimal level of overall health.
- Differences - Selfish people can change, and Narcissists typically won’t. When a selfish person realises he is causing others discomfort, he can choose to do something different. A true narcissist can’t. The self-importance is hardwired in their bodies. On the other hand, self-care is looking after one’s health and overall well-being. Self-care is about taking good care of our own feelings so we don’t project them onto others, act badly, or cause problems in relationships.
Narcissism and ethical decision making
- Ethical decision-making refers to the process of evaluating and choosing among alternatives in a manner consistent with ethical principles.
- In making ethical decisions, it is necessary to perceive and eliminate unethical options and select the best ethical alternative. Since narcissism involves excessive self-importance, a person may make unethical decisions. He/she would make decisions by disregarding the needs of others.
- Narcissism is sufficiently intrusive and powerful that it entices people into behaving in ways inimical to their most deeply-held beliefs.
- Narcissism is not just an obsession with personal appearance or too much self-involvement; it’s a fundamental orientation towards the world where everything associated with you is good, and everything alien to you is bad, where anything that furthers your interests is good and anything that hinders those interests is bad. In such cases, a person may only look after his/her interests and will make unethical decisions.
- What does this quotation mean to you?
“Principles without traits [virtues] are impotent, and traits without principles are blind.” (10 Marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- A principle is a concept or value that is a guide for behaviour or evaluation. Virtue is thinking and doing what is right and avoiding what is wrong. It is a behaviour showing high moral standards.
Principles without traits -
- Principles guide human behaviour. If a person has values but does not have the courage to follow them or bring them into his/her behaviour, then those principles are considered impotent.
- Suppose there is a person who knows the value of honesty and considers it as an important value in a human being, but indulges in corruption due to pressure or fear or remains silent when they see something unjust. Those principles are of no use and are said to be impotent.
- Moral courage is the courage to take action for moral reasons despite the risk of adverse consequences. Courage is required to take action when one has doubts or fears about the consequences. Moral courage could bring your principles or beliefs into behaviour or action.
- E.g., while investigating any criminal case, a police officer who believes in the highest of values but succumbs to the pressure of his/her boss for fear of family or job, does not show courage in his/her behaviour, and will seem impotent. There is no merit in having values or principles which one cannot show through their actions.
Traits without Principles -
- Virtues show the highest moral standards. But if any action has been taken without thinking or comes out of ignorance, those virtues will be considered as blind.
- That is, if there is a virtue, there must be a principle to which it corresponds and from which it derives its virtuous character. It is important to think of the consequences before taking any action.
- Merely having virtues without reasoning may seem like ignorance, and sometimes it may not lead to ethical consequences.
Example -
- Suppose there is an officer who is implementing a social service scheme to provide support to old and destitute women. An old and illiterate woman comes to him to avail the benefits of the scheme. However, she has no documents to show that she fulfils the eligibility criteria. If an officer denies her benefits on account of being virtuous, and would not take any action so that old lady could get benefits in spite of hurdles. His/her behaviour may seem as blind. He/she may seem to be following virtues without thinking over it.
- During wartime, thousands and thousands of innocents like women and children, are brutally killed by the army. The actions are also blind as many innocents are killed as part of the plan.
Conclusion
- Principles and virtues both bring out ethical behaviour in a human being. But principles should be backed with courage, and there is a need for thinking required before following any virtues. Fault in both may not lead to ethical consequences.
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- What does this quotation mean to you?
“A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first, and honest people are screwed first.” (10 Marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- Honesty is the quality of being truthful with oneself and others. An example of honesty is telling the truth even after doing something wrong. Honesty promotes authenticity, fosters courage and creates a connection. It is being said that though honesty is a great virtue to be possessed by a human, too much honesty could be harmful for the person.
Main Body
Problems with too much honesty -
- In personal relationships, Brutal honesty does more harm than good. One needs to present his/her issues with some degree of kindness.
- Sometimes being “too much” honest means one isn’t as sensitive as others, and offending them can be easier. One might not be trying to be mean, but honesty comes off as harsh and rude. For example, breaking the signal and then walking towards the policemen with honesty.
- Since people working beside honest people know that in no circumstance these honest people will lie or go against the truth, they are always taken for granted. Since they do not come forward to ask for their rights, they are treated as content with everything.
- When there is an assessment of the skills of an individual in any interview, the honest person will always tell the truth, even if they are not proficient in a particular skill. As a result, honesty fails, and the honest person gets rejected.
- Honesty in a relationship can also make you vulnerable. For example, if you have a habit of drinking alcohol occasionally, you might tend to hide this from your wife and family members at home. But an honest person will never lie.
- Rather, he would speak the truth. As a result, the relationship turns sour with an argument.
- Many people do not like honest people telling the truth. Since honest people say the bitter truth on the face of people, they are disregarded among friends, relatives and colleagues.
On the other hand, honesty also has its own advantages. It brings peace of mind to an individual. In a relationship, Honesty creates trust and a sense of comfort in partners to show their true selves. People in general may not like brutally honest people, but many will come to the person for advice and may get genuine feedback.
Conclusion
- Truth and honesty are not two sides of the same coin, although most of the time they are paired, but not always. Sometimes lies become honesty, and speaking truth becomes dishonesty because these things are relative, not absolute; hence once should be logical and wise to do so. It is wise to assess the situation before any work to ensure that it may not harm oneself or loved ones in the long run.
- What do you understand about conservation ethics? Discuss its importance for present and future generations. (10 Marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- All the natural resources are vulnerable to overexploitation and destruction by humans. They will disappear entirely or be reduced such that humans could no longer benefit from them directly, or they would no longer support functioning ecosystems. Although in reality, humans still often operate selfishly in their use of resources, many actions are now guided by a moral philosophy or ethic towards conservation, including protection, allocation, and sustainable resource use.
Main Body
Importance of conservation ethic:
- Our lifestyles are becoming more resource and energy-intensive, which is leading to unsustainable exploitation of our planet. WWF estimated that we would need two Earths by 2030 to sustain present lifestyles.
- An increasing population and more people are coming out of poverty and adopting resource-intensive lifestyles.
- Eco-friendly indigenous cultures are getting replaced by consumerist cultures, which is leading to the production of more and more goods and services and the unsustainable extraction of natural resources.
- Humans are just one species among millions of species, which co-inhabit the planet. It is unethical to monopolise the natural resources and destroy our common home and co-inhabitants.
- The view that only people possess intrinsic value and nature possesses merely instrumental value must be shunned. All the natural areas and species have their own worth and must be respected.
- As the native American saying goes, "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children". Hence, our present actions should not result in deterioration of the quality of life for future generations (Intergenerational equity).
- Global warming and resulting Climate change have already begun to create extreme weather events, which are causing huge human and economic losses.
- So far, we have not been able to find another planet which supports human life as favourably as the Earth. By destroying the Earth, our existence is threatened.
- The species and habitats provide goods, services and information that are valuable to humans. Hence, they must be exploited sustainably.
Conclusion
- Poor and marginalised communities are heavily dependent on natural resources for their basic resources and livelihood. Hence, a conservation ethic is necessary for equitable development.
- It's high time for humans to act in a more responsible manner to save the planet and save themselves.
- When Albert Einstein says, “Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value”. How do you relate this saying to your personality and ambitions? (10 Marks)
Model Structure
Introduction
- In today's world, there is an increasing tendency to respect people solely by the quantum of their material success, rather than the strength of their character. Hence, individuals are willing to commit any kind of moral transgression to reach the top. Joining the civil services is my dream, and I want to occupy impactful leadership positions in government. But I look at civil services as a means to achieve my goal of serving the country.
Main Body
- Life is a much bigger entity, and success should not become the only objective.
- In recent times, there are many civil servants who compromise their integrity or political neutrality to get plum postings.
- Such people have given up honour and would only receive external respect from people around them.
- Everyone, right from a peon to a chief secretary, is important in an organisation. Hence, in whatever position one works, they must work hard in an ethical manner.
- Success is meaningless if it is achieved by trampling others’ lives and following corrupt means. Society might outwardly respect such people, but individuals will lose respect for themselves. Being successful just for the sake of being successful is meaningless if one cannot lead a happy, meaningful and contented life, for which values are a must.
