mgp cc - ethics Flashcards
- What is the relation between attitude and behaviour?
- Attitude could be described as predisposition to act towards an attitude object in a particular way. 2. Hence, attitude is an important marker towards determining a person’s behavior and most of the times a person behaves in the direction of his/her attitude. 3. However, at times due to many factors there could also be instances of divergence between attitude and behaviour.”
- What are the factors which determine the divergence or congruence between attitude and behaviour?
- Attitude Strength – Attitude strength is how easily and quickly an attitude comes to the mind. Strong attitudes are more potent to be reflected in behaviour. Whereas, those attitudes towards which we are not sure and don’t come to mind quickly and regularly are weak attitudes. Such weak attitudes are not often reflected in behaviour. 2. Attitude consistency – When cognitive and affective components of attitude, both are aligned, then, it is more likely to be reflected in behaviour. 3. Self-monitors –People with low self-monitors are those who attempt to blend in the social situation so that they would be liked by others. Thus, these people have weak attitute-behaviour relation and they act against their previously held attitude. Whereas, people with high self-monitors and these people do not allow social situations to influence their behaviour. These people have a strong attitude and behaviour relation. 4. Vested interest- Higher the interest of the attitude holder in the held attitude, higher are the chances of its translation into actions and behaviours. 5. Social acceptance -mainstream attitudes are more socially accepted. However, sometimes a person might also hold unconventional attitudes which have less social acceptance and such unconventional attitudes might not be manifested often in behaviour due to fear of backlash. 6. Perceived relevance of attitude- If an individual has the perception that his attitudes are not relevant, then it is unlikely
- What do you mean by the consequentialist theory of ethics?
- Consequentialism is a class of ethical theories which believes that the rightfulness of an action could be determined by the consequences that it brings. 2. If consequences are positive or good then it would be considered as an ethical act. 3. Consequentialist thinkers are diametrically opposite from deontological thinkers as deontologists has given primacy to the ““way of doing”” rather than the consequences.”
- What are the major schools of consequentialist ethics?
- Utilitarianism: it was propounded by Jeremy Bentham who believed in the premise of ““greatest happiness of greatest numbers.”” According to Bentham, the utility of every action can be measured and the unit of measurement needs to be happiness. ● Hence a moral agent needs to prefer a particular course of action which yields the maximum utility in terms of happiness. ● However, if positive utility is not possible then a moral agent needs to follow the course of action which brings the least pain for the least number of people. 2. Ethical egoism: it believes that the moral agent should look out for one’s own self-interest and should take efforts to maintain it in the long term. ● Logically, self-interest in the long term could only be maintained if the agent makes a conscious effort to not hinder others or self-interest. ● Eventually everybody’s self-interest will be maintained and mutual ethics will come into existence. 3. Ethical altruism: they believe that actions are ethical if it benefits the society as a whole even at the cost of one’s own discomfort and sacrifices. ● According to them general happiness or societal happiness is the real happiness and the foundation of ethics.”
- What do you mean by deontological theory of ethics?
- Deontological theory of ethics was majorly propounded by German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally obligatory regardless of their consequences for human welfare. 2. In other words, morality of an action depends on the means adopted rather than the consequences. Thus, commitment to duty should be the most important consideration irrespective of the results or ends. 3. Even Mahatma Gandhi has supported that deontological perspective of ethics.”
- What are the major tenets of deontological ethics?
- Categorical imperative: CI is devised by Kant to provide a formulation by which we can apply our human reason to determine the right, the rational thing to be done. Categorical imperatives are objective and unconditional principles that originate out of rationality and free will. Any action to be morally upright must conform to CI. It is obeyed purely out of a sense of duty and not due to emotions, feeling or desire. 2. Treat men as an end in themselves: as per deontological view on ethics human beings can never be used as means for a higher purpose; rather, they theselves are the ultimate ends and every activity should be oriented towards their welfare and upliftment. Thus, deontological ethics are heavily inclined towards a humanistic approach. 3. Autonomy of ethics and morality: according to deontology ethics are not dependent on any divine God, constitution or a legal Constitution rather ethics are derived from one’s own reason and sense of duty. 4. Supremacy of Duty Principle- duty for the sake of duty is the most important dictum propounded by the oncologists. Acting right because it’s the right thing to do, not because of some fear or reward attached to it. When an act is done based on reward and punishment, it’s not a moral act as rationality has not been followed.”
- What do you mean by apathy?
● Apathy: is a state of lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It could also be defined as a state of indifference with respect to other people’s pain towards an unfortunate situation. ● Ex: In times of pandemic, often administration have turned their eyes and no substantial arrangement for medical care are provided –> bureaucratic apathy. ● Ambulance owners charging exorbitant prices from patients for their services in times of COVID 19. ● free oxygen cylinders/medicine/food to needy during pandemic.”
- What do you mean by sympathy?
● Sympathy: Sympathy is the perception, understanding, and reaction to the distress or need of another life form. ● Acknowledging a person’s pain in times of crisis/misfortune. ● Hospitals in times of Covid wave were over-stressed –> can sympathise with patients but are unable to do anything.”
- What do you mean by empathy?
● Empathy: Stepping in another person’s shoes and actually trying to experience emotions/pains that another person might be going through. ● It is more intense than sympathy. Ex: Doctors crying out during their Covid duty when they are not able to help.”
- What do you mean by compassion?
● Compassion: going out of way + taking an extra effort to help/alleviate sufferings of others. ● Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to help the physical, mental, or emotional pains of another and themselves. ● NGO + Gurudwaras: distributing”
- What do you mean by Adversity quotient?
● The concept of AQ was proposed and conceptualized by Dr Paul Stoltz as an essential life skill. ● Adversity quotient (AQ) is defined as the ability of an individual to think, manage, direct, and endure challenges and difficulties in life.”
- How to measure the Adversity quotient?
● Stoltz proposed four dimensions to measure adversity quotients. The four dimensions are abbreviated as CORE and are described in the following manner: 1. Control– It is the extent to which individuals are able to manage their life and control the negative consequences before getting worse. 2. Ownership– It is the extent to which you are accountable for your actions and are willing to take responsibilities to make adverse situations better. 3. Reach– It is the extent to which the challenges you face extrapolate to other aspects of your life. It measures how capable you are to resist such challenges from affecting other necessities such as your profession or family life. 4. Endurance– It is the extent to which you are capable of tolerating pain and yet be optimistic of the future and believing that something positive waits for you on the opposite side of all adversities.”
- What is the relevance of AQ in present times?
● Coping with adversities and being resilient is an essential life skill which we need to teach kids at a young age. ● Further, Good AQ helps in: 1. Being an active learner opens one to solving life’s problems. 2. Following a constructive approach to solve or experience any issues. 3. Not easily give up when they suffer from a setback 4. Maintaining faith and a positive attitude. 5. Having a strong AQ is important for well-being and prevents the onset of mental health problems. 6. There are also claims that enhancing AQ can result in gains in productivity, capacity, performance, innovation and morale.”
- What are Emotions?
• Emotions: could be defined as psychological/biological/physiological changes or sensations caused in one’s body, conditioned due to an internal or external stimuli. • Emotions are relatively more intense/vivid/vibrant in terms of experience. • In terms of duration of experience, emotions are relatively short-lived + volatile. • Great degree of subjectivity occurs in emotional response.”
- What are the Types of Emotions?
• Paul Ekman initially proposed seven basic emotions: fear, anger, joy, sad, contempt, disgust, and surprise; but he later changed to six basic emotions i.e., fear, anger, joy, sadness, disgust, and surprise. • Robert Plutchik proposed eight primary emotions: anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise, anticipation, trust and joy, and arranged them in a colour wheel.”
- What are Moods?
• Moods: prolonged state of mind caused after an emotional outburst. • Relatively faint/less intense. • Prolonged/relatively long-lived.”
- What are Feelings?
• Feelings: caused due to subjective interpretation of an emotion –> associated with an object/person/situation. • Feelings are conscious perceptions.”
- What is Emotional Intelligence (EI)?
• Emotional intelligence (EI) is the capability of a person to assess, manage and control one’s own emotions as well as emotions of others. It is critical to manage our behavior and decision making. • Persons who are capable of having awareness of emotions for self or others and regulate accordingly are called emotionally intelligent. Persons who fail to do so, deviate and thereby develop abreaction of emotion, resulting in anger, frustration and conflict. • Emotional intelligence is critical for effective decision making. It plays an important role in driving an organization together towards a goal and help in conflict resolution. It enables a leader to be more empathetic, professional, understanding and goal oriented.”
- How does EI help an individual in making ethical decisions?
- Informed decision making: Emotions help inform decisions by allowing the decision maker to anticipate the positive and negative emotional consequences of a particular decision on the decision maker and on others. The ability to read others’ emotions, is critical in responding to others’ feelings. 2. Moral decisions: Ability to regulate emotion helps a decision maker monitor his/her own emotional state, and serves to inform about whether a particular decision feels good or bad. This ability could be used to regulate emotions productively toward more situations. 3. Conflict resolution: Emotional Intelligence help individuals in resolving conflict effectively. It enables a person to visualise the effect of his decisions on him and others and help him to manage negative emotions like greed and anger. 4. Objective Decision making: Emotionally Intelligent person make objective decisions based on accumulated wisdom and understanding with time. A person who manages his or her emotions will take quick and strong decisions without emotions being involved after proper cost-benefit analysis.”
- What is the Framework of Emotional intelligence (EI)?
• Self-Awareness: It is the skill of being aware of and understanding one’s emotions as they occur and as they evolve. • Self-Regulation: It is about controlling one’s emotions i.e. instead of reacting quickly; one can reign in one’s emotions and thus will think before responding. • Empathy: It is an awareness of the needs and feelings of others both individually and in groups, and being able to see things from the point of view of others. • Internal Motivation: It includes one’s personal drive to improve and achieve commitment to one’s goals, initiative, or readiness to act on opportunities, and optimism and resilience. • Social Skills: It is applying empathy and balancing the wants and requirements of others with one’s. It includes building good rapport with others.”
- What is an aptitude?
- Aptitude = potential/capability –> acquire new skill via appropriate training + orientation. 2. Nature of civil services = generalist –> CS needs to play diverse roles/duties etc. 3. Thus, constant adaptability –> needed. 4. Good aptitude ensures adaptability + flexibility. 5. Aptitude –> efficiency 6. Expenditure + resources –> reduced 7. Aptitude though pertains to an inherent skill but it also needs regular training in order to keep it relevant.”
- What is the difference between Intelligence and Aptitude?
- Intelligence: it is a marker of one’s cognitive abilities. It is generalised term to denote mental sharpness. 2. However, Aptitude = particular or specific to a particular domain. 3. Intelligence could be measure on a generalised scale of intelligence i.e., IQ but there is no universal marker of measuring all the aptitudes.”
- What are abilities, skills and interests?
- Abilities = things a person can do in present 2. Skills = things learnt –> past by using aptitude. 3. Interest= Things one like to do irrespective of aptitude.”
- What is more important for a successful life?
Aptitude refers to an inherent potential. Though, it happens to be a necessary condition but not a sufficient condition as: • Apart from aptitude, one should give adequate time to polish one’s aptitude. • Inclination + Interest = needed. It acts as a constant driving force. • Positive attitude is also needed. It facilitates a conducive state of mind. • Aptitude + attitude = altitude.”
