Tag Archives: ethics

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Clearing your Conscience

Leave a comment
Taking action to salve your conscience may benefit others or it could just be a selfish act.  Most likely though it is a little bit of both.   Doing it solely for vindictive purposes may weigh on your conscience and create a vicious circle.
Each of us is guided by our inner feeling or inner voice relative to the rightness or wrongness of our behavior.  Sometimes we act on this directly, sometimes we ignore and let it fester for a while but ultimately it always affects us in some way.

Focus on You

Our conscience is with us until we die.  When we override the voice in our head or values we hold dear in our hearts the action we chose remains embedded in our brain and we need to live with it.

From time to time this can mean we try to heal our feelings by taking actions to resolve those things that are eating at us from the inside and just won’t go away.

In some cases, these things we finally chose to resolve will not only help us but can spill over as beneficial actions for others.  For example, if you chose to out a bully through public identification,  this could have drawbacks on you (the bully might not like it).

However, the good news is that it could put a stop to the bullying behavior, that is saving others from past or future pain.    For you, doing the honorable thing should resolve guilt feelings a salve your conscience, although there may be some short term pain.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

The Collective Conscience

Leave a comment

We can display our individual conscientiousness through conformity to what we consider to be correct, right, or morally good. Our social or cultural norms should be key influencing factors.

The collective conscience is displayed when all members of a social group practice consistent behaviors.  That is everyone accepts and conforms to the beliefs of the whole relative to what is right.

Laws/ Consequences

Voluntary adherence to societal norms is ideal.   History has shown while the majority of the population complies with cultural expectations a small percentage requires more motivation.

Hence our construction of laws with associated penalties or consequences of some sort.   These consequences can range from a slap of the hand to death.

Pandemic Context

A serious topic on everyone’s mind of late is the rapidly spreading Covid 19 illness.  Caused by the Corona virus, which seems to be easily and readily spread efforts toward containment require adherence to the collective conscience.

That is we need to isolate ourselves from others rigorously and respect each other’s space.   In North America, we are relying on personal integrity for adherence.

Stories from China and starting to emerge from Italy indicate a more forceful lockdown is taking place as some just don’t consider the need to adhere based on their own personal conscience.

We are seeming a lot of this behavior throughout the U.S. as well.  I find it puzzling given the requested self-isolation is only for the good of all.

Do we really need to be forced to do what only makes common sense?   I guess for some, sadly, that is the case.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

The Leadership has Spoken

Leave a comment

I had a interesting discussion about ethics at lunch today.  I was not alone, so this post is not about me talking to myself but actually dialoguing with others.

Follow the Leader

Often in our societies its the government that provides (dictates?) our morality and thus the associated ethical behaviour.   The crusades goal of recapturing Jerusalem was obviously moral and ethical (obvious to the leaders and their pions).

Conclusion, murdering others is a moral and ethical behaviour if the cause is just.  Justice as defined subjectively by the leader and accepted by their followers (pawns?)

Really!!!!

My wife does not agree with this assessment.  Perhaps the winners of a conflict will position themselves as moral practioners of ethical behaviour but this is in fact just self justification. War is wrong!

Checking in with the Greeks

Plato postulated, at it’s core,  human nature was based on three main objectives:

  • seeking knowledge
  • seeking power (victory/reputation)
  • seeking wealth (money, material gain)

By there very nature the practice of these behaviours clouds humans abilities to define morals in a consistent and sustainable way.

We each have a different mix  of beliefs underpinned by our very natures.  That is our individual  drive for knowledge, power, and material gain.

There are of course infinitesimal ways these attributes can be weighted.

The Result

Murder is morally wrong, my ex colleague opined at lunch today.  At least we can agree on that.  My counter is “except in self defense or pursuit of a just cause”

And so the slippery slope of morality and ethical behaviour begins.  Is it within the realm of human beings to solve this difficult question definatively.

I like Plato’s answer,  in essence he said, we can seek to define and achieve morality but we will never attain that goal.  The three fundemental aspects of human behaviour make it impossible.

Disclaimer

The aforementioned  philosophical discussion about plato and comments from my lunch companions and wife are my interpretations and may not accurately reflect their feedback.