Ethics and Human Interface

What the official syllabus says

UPPCS Main Examination, General Studies IV:

Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in human action, dimensions of ethics, ethics in private and public relationships.

Topics in detail

Essence of ethics

• Meaning of ethics (from the Greek ethos, character) and morality (from the Latin mores, customs); the difference between the two.
• Ethics compared with law, religion, custom and etiquette: what each demands and why an act can be legal yet unethical.
• Values, norms, principles and virtues: definitions and how they relate.
• Descriptive statements (what is) and normative statements (what ought to be); the fact-value distinction.
• The moral agent: free will, knowledge and intention as conditions of moral responsibility.
• Conscience and moral reasoning; moral judgement and moral courage.
• Moral relativism and moral universalism: are standards of right and wrong the same everywhere?
• Indian concepts: rta (cosmic order), dharma (duty and right conduct), rna (debts and obligations) and the four purusharthas (dharma, artha, kama, moksha).

Determinants of ethics in human action

• Individual factors: upbringing, character, temperament, self-interest, conscience.
• Family and social factors: parents, peer group, community, caste and religious norms.
• Cultural and religious traditions as sources of moral codes.
• Legal and institutional factors: laws, rules, organisational culture, professional codes.
• Economic factors: incentives, poverty, greed, competition.
• Situational pressures: authority, group conformity, fear, lack of time or information.
• Media, social media and technology as new influences on moral behaviour.
• Moral development: Lawrence Kohlberg's three levels (pre-conventional, conventional, post-conventional); Carol Gilligan's ethics of care as a response.

Consequences of ethics in human action

• For the individual: self-respect, peace of mind, reputation; guilt and shame after wrongdoing.
• For society: trust, social capital, cooperation and cohesion.
• For organisations: credibility, efficiency, lower cost of monitoring and control.
• For governance: legitimacy of the State, public trust, rule of law.
• Consequences of unethical conduct: corruption, injustice, loss of trust, cynicism, waste of public resources.
• Means and ends: whether a good end justifies doubtful means; Gandhi's insistence on pure means.

Dimensions of ethics

• Meta-ethics: the meaning and nature of moral terms such as good, right and duty.
• Normative ethics: virtue ethics, duty-based (deontological) ethics and consequence-based ethics, including utilitarianism.
• Applied ethics: bioethics, medical ethics, environmental ethics, business ethics, media ethics, cyber ethics and the ethics of artificial intelligence, sports ethics.
• Descriptive ethics: how people actually behave and what they actually believe.
• Personal, professional and social ethics; individual morality and public morality.
• Constitutional morality: respect for constitutional values and processes, as distinct from popular morality.

Ethics in private and public relationships

• Private relationships: family, friendship, neighbourhood; values such as love, loyalty, honesty, care and respect.
• Public relationships: citizen and State, official and public, employer and employee; values such as impartiality, fairness, accountability and transparency.
• Where the two meet: nepotism, favouritism and conflict of interest when private loyalties enter public duty.
• Does the private conduct of a public servant matter? Public figures as role models.
• Gender justice in relationships: dignity at home and at work; the Vishaka guidelines (1997) and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
• Ethics in dealing with colleagues, subordinates and superiors; respect for dissent.
• Professional relationships: doctor and patient, teacher and student, lawyer and client.

The three main normative approaches

Overlaps

• The thinkers named above are covered in Moral Thinkers and Philosophers.
• Ethics in public relationships continues in Public Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration.
• Essay topics on values and society draw on this material: see UPPCS Mains: Essay.