Unit 1
Ethics and Human Values
Human values are the building blocks for any viable life within society. They are the principles, ideals, fundamental Convictions and standard of behaviour that help in one's judgement of what may or may not be considered important in life.
Value means importance and education means knowledge, hence, value education imparts qualities such as humanity, honesty, responsibility, and empathy in a person. Value Education can be defined as a medium which enables in understanding ‘what is valuable’ for human happiness. Value education is about enabling a transformation in human beings to help them move from animal consciousness to human consciousness. The main purpose of value education is to properly facilitate character development of students for the wellbeing of individuals and society at large.
Need for Value Education
There is a necessity for imparting proper values among students and people in general to encourage them for developing their own moral codes which help them in becoming a better human being. Moral awareness should be endorsed for the advancement and welfare of the society. Let us understand the varied aspects of appreciating the requirement for value education:
- Correct identification for our aspiration.
- Understanding universal human values to fulfil our aspirations
- Complementarity Of values and skills.
- Evaluation of our beliefs.
- Technology and human values.
- Correct identification of our aspirations: Value Education helps in the realization of what is valuable. Thus, it enables us to grasp our needs and visualize our goals correctly and also indicate the direction of one's fulfilment. It also helps to get rid of our confusions and contradictions and facilitates harmony at all levels.
2. Understanding universal human values to fulfil our aspirations in continuity: Values form the premise for all our thoughts, behaviours and actions. Once we know the things that are valuable to us, these values becomes the foundation, the anchor for our actions. We also ought to understand the universality of different human values, because only then we will have a precise and comprehensive program for value education. Then only we will be assured of a contented and harmonious human society.
3. Complementarity of values and skills: To meet our aspirations both values and skills are necessary. When we identify and set the correct goals and identify the right direction. This is referred to as value domain, the domain of wisdom. We must also learn and practice how to actualize these goalsand develop the techniques to make this happen in real life, in various dimensions of human endeavour (struggle). This is known as domain of skills.
Hence, there's a vital complementarity between values and skills for the success of any human endeavour. For example, I would like to lead a healthy life. Only wishing for good health won't help me keep my body fit and healthy and without having understood the meaning of health, I will not be able to choose things correctly to keep my body fit and healthy.
4. Evaluation of our beliefs: All individuals believe in certain things and we base our values on these beliefs, be they false or true which may or may not be actualized in reality. These beliefs come to us from what we read, see, hear, what our parents tells us, our friends remark, what the magazines verbalize, what we see from TV etc. Value Education helps us to evaluate, judge and formulate our beliefs and assumed values.
5. Technology and human values: The current education system has become largely skill-based. The prime emphasis is on science and technology. However, science and technology can only help to supply the means to attain what's considered valuable. It is not within the scope of science and technology to produce the competence of deciding what really is needed. Value Education could be a crucial missing link within the present education system. Because of this deficiency, most of our efforts may prove to be counterproductive and serious crises may manifest at the individual, societal and environmental levels.
Content of Value Education
The content of Value Education includes the following points:
- To understand myself, my aspirations, my happiness
- To understand the goal of human life
- To understand the other entities in nature, their inter- connectedness and coexistence and role of human being in nature
- To understand harmony at the four levels of human living
Value Education includes five core human values:
- Love – As complicated as the concept of love is, typically, it includes caring for human beings, animals and nature. Being compassionate towards all living things and the environment is an important aspect of Value Education.
2. Peace – Peace includes both internal and external tranquillity. Internal peace refers to the peace of mind which can be achieved through mindfulness and meditation. External peace refers to creating a peaceful environment around oneself which facilitates harmonious living. Typically, external peace is a by-product of external peace. If one is peaceful and content they tend to keep their surrounding peaceful as well.
3. Truth – Truth refers to being truthful not only with one’s words but also with one’s actions. Being truthful includes indispensable ethical discipline which is necessary for leading a fulfilling life.
4. Right Conduct – Right conduct includes being morally responsible and truthful with one’s actions. It is imperative that one chooses the ethical and moral direction when an opportunity containing such a choice presents itself.
5. Non-violence – Being non-violent implies having a reverence toward life. It means giving respect and recognizing the rights of others. Non-violence includes being compassionate towards human beings and animals.
Guidelines for Value Education
The content of value education can be described with the help of the following guidelines:
- Universal: Value Education must be universally applicable to any and all human beings regardless of religion, nationalism, caste, creed etc. Universality also includes temporality, meaning, Value Education must be applicable irrespective of a time period or era.
- Rational: Value education should be based on reason or logic and not on blind beliefs. It has to appeal to human reasoning. It has to be amenable to reasoning and not pre-defined dogmas.
- Natural and Verifiable: Value Education must not be founded on dogmas, beliefs or assumptions. It should be naturally acceptable, valid, implementable and experientially verifiable by all individuals alike. It has to be naturally acceptable to all human beings and must lead to contentment when such values are followed and adhered to.
- All Encompassing: Value Education is not just an academic subject but rather it is aimed at transforming our consciousness and lifestyle. Therefore, it should cover all the dimensions (thought, behaviour and work) and levels (individuals, family, society) of human life and profession.
- Leading to Harmony: Value Education should promote harmony and ultimately lead to it within the individual, among human beings and with nature.
Process of Value Education
The process of Value Education begins with self-exploration i.e. looking inside yourself. This means that Value Education should drive an individual towards self-exploration. This process of self-exploration needs to be in the form of dialogues and not in the form of sermon of do's and don'ts. Various aspects of human values are presented as proposals in the process of value education that need to be verified through experiential validation. Therefore, this process is anticipated to initiate transformation in our consciousness and living.
The process of value education inculcates the following:
- It is process of identification of valued.
- It is a process of internal dialogue between ‘what you are and ‘what you really want to be’.
- It is a process of knowing oneself and knowing the entire existence through oneself.
- Whatever is found as truth or reality must be stated as proposal and must be verified at its own right.
- No proposal should be assumed as truth merely on the basis of scriptures, conditioning or other people.
- It is a flexible process unlike moral education which is rigid in nature
This process of self-exploration helps you be harmonious within yourself and in harmony with everything around.
Introspection
Introspection simply refers to the examination of one's own conscious thoughts and feelings. In psychology the method of introspection relies exclusively on observation of one's psychological state, while in a spiritual context it may describe the process of examination of one's soul.
Introspection in Value Education can mean the process of activating inherent goodness. This helps to locate the behaviour associated with negative traits so that in due course of time they begin to lose their hold. Introspection enables one:
- To be free from the influence of negativity
- To have a desire to be good
- To look within and see the true self
- To activate the inner spirituality.
When individuals introspect and look within, they find the goodness that is there within them. As a result, individuals tend to naturally free from their own expectations that others should recognize their goodness. Instead, they find themselves content with what they are and continue to bring out the best from within.
Methods of Introspection
Introspection typically involves asking oneself relevant questions that help in bringing out one's thoughts. Below are some methods that help with the process of introspection:
- Identify the Important Questions
Think of some questions that you want to ask yourself routinely (daily, weekly, monthly) to use as an assessment for your self-reflection.
Some examples are:
- What habits did I achieve this week?
- What could I better improve on?
- How did I feel overall today?
2. Meditate
Meditation simply means observing one's actions and thoughts. A simple method for meditating is to sit silently and observe your breathing along with the thoughts that flow through the space of your mind.
3. Journal
Writing in a journal like a diary is a great way to get your thoughts and feelings out. It is also a great tool to look back on to see any patterns in your habits and thoughts.
4. Writing Exercises
Does your mind feel jumbled with thoughts and decisions? Simply set a timer for 5-10 minutes and write everything that comes to mind. Notice any patterns? What thoughts are important and which are fleeting? Writing exercises are great to lay out your thoughts out on paper (or computer) to arrange them better.
5. Talk to Yourself Out Loud
Sometimes hearing yourself talk aloud may be an excellent way to have realizations. Having a conversation with yourself allows you to urge your thoughts out and self-reflect.
6. Perform Breathing Exercises
From simple to complex, breathing exercises allow you to steady your heart rate and calm down. This brings your mind to a calmer place to think more clearly.
7. Analyse a Past Event
Pick an incident that you have certain feelings about. Take a couple of moments to investigate that specific event.
- Why do you feel the way you do about that event?
- What did you do well in this particular event?
- What could you improve upon in the future?
8. Assess What You Are Grateful For
Taking the time at the end of the day to ponder on what you're grateful for can improve your mood and way of thinking. Try to think of just three things that you are grateful for at the end of each day.
9. Track Your Feelings
Grab a journal or an app and track your feelings each day. Do you notice any trends in your moods? Often seeing why you react to certain stigma brings a sense of peace a realization for why you do what you do.
10. Perform a Self-Check Up
Sit down with yourself and assess different areas of your life. Career, Love-Life, Education, Hobbies, Family, Fitness, etc. How happy are you with your efforts in each area? What can you start improving on?
11. Set Specific Goals
After performing the introspections actions above, setting specific goals to achieve can greatly improve your progress.Where do you want to be mentally and physically in the next 6 months? 3 years? 5 years?
Visualizing these goals helps to make them a reality.
Process of Self Exploration
Exploration refers to the observations made in the external world whereas self-exploration implies observing inside oneself. Self-exploration is the process to find out what is valuable to an individual by investigating within oneself, what is right for them, true for them, has to be judged within themselves. Self-exploration allows one to find out the value of ideas and concepts and thus acts as a process of inculcating value education.
This process of self-exploration needs to be in the form of dialogues and not in the form of sermon of do's and don'ts. During the process of self-exploration, various aspects of human values are presented as proposals in the process of value education that need to be verified through experiential validation.
Self-exploration is a process of discovering that there is something innate, invariant and universal in all human beings. This enables us to look at the confusions and contradictions within us and resolve them by becoming aware of our natural acceptance.
The following points are to be kept in mind regarding the process of Self-Exploration:
- Whatever is stated is a proposal
- The proposal should not be labelled as true or false/ wrong or right
- The proposal must be verified on its own right
- The proposal must not be evaluated on the basis of scriptures, instruments or on the basis of others.
Content of Self-exploration
The content of self-exploration relates to finding out the answers to the most basic human questions within oneself :
1. The Desire/Goal/Aspiration:
- What is my (human) Desire/ Goal?
- What do I really want in life, or what is the goal of humanity in general?
2. The Program:
- What is my (human) program for fulfilling my aspirations?
- How to fulfil it? What is the program to actualize the above?
The above two questions cover the whole domain of human aspirations and human endeavour. Therefore, they form the primary content of self- exploration.
Process of Self-exploration
The following two steps are involved in the process of Self-Exploration: Firstly, verify the proposal on the basis of your natural acceptance and secondly, live according to the proposal to validate it experientially.
1. Natural acceptance: Natural acceptance refers to the unconditional and total acceptance of the self, people and environment. It also refers to the absence of any exception for others and accepting them in the same way we accept ourselves. Once we fully and truly commit ourselves on the premise of natural acceptance, we feel a holistic sense of inner harmony, tranquillity and fulfilment. It is the method of seeing and observing attentively and later using your inner conscience to induce the solution from within. It is a way to bring out the goodness in everything naturally.
- Natural acceptance doesn't change with time. It remains invariant with time. For example, our natural acceptance for trust and respect does not change with age.
- It does not depend on the place. Whatever we've accepted, in our life, at any time of our age, does not change, even if we move from one place to a different one.
- It doesn't rely on our beliefs or past conditionings. No matter how deep our belief or past conditioning, as long as we ask ourselves the question sincerely, as long as we refer deep within ourselves, the solution will always be constant.
- This natural acceptance is ‘constantly there’, something we are able to consult with. Natural acceptance is always there. Whatever we do, this natural acceptance is within us, it's telling us what's right.
- Natural acceptance is the same for al of us: it's part and parcel of each individual, it's part of humanness. Though each individual, may have different likes and dislikes and means to live and to react etc. but if we go deep in our mind the aim of our work, behaviour, efforts etc. are founded on common goals like need to be happy, need to be respected, need to get prosperity. So, our basic acceptance remains the same.
2. Experiential validation: Experiential validation can be defined as a process that infuses direct experience with the experimental environment and content. It may be considered a philosophy and methodology within which the direct experience and focused reflection of the individual helps to extend knowledge, develop skill and clarify values the process of Self-Exploration leads to ‘Realization’ and ‘Understanding’ in us. This realization and understanding leads to the following answers –
- Assuring
- Satisfying
- Universal with respect to Time, Space and Individual.
Purpose of Self-exploration
The purpose of self-exploration can be understood from the following points:
1. It's a process of dialogue between “what you are” and “what you actually want to be”: it's a process of focusing
Attention on ourselves, our present beliefs and aspirations vis-à-vis what we actually want to be. If these two are identical, then there's no problem. If on investigation we discover that these two don't seem to be constant, then it means we reside with this contradiction (of not being what we really want to be) and hence, we need to resolve this contradiction this conflict within us.
2. It's a process of evolution through self-investigation: It successively enables us to evolve by bridging the gapbetween ‘what we are’ and ‘what to be’. Hence, the self-exploration results in our own improvement, our evolution – we will become qualitatively better.
3. It's a process of knowing oneself and by that, knowing the whole existence: The exploration starts by askingsimple questions regarding ourselves, which provides us clarity about our being, and so clarity about everything around us.
4. It's a process of recognizing one’s relationship with every unit existing and fulfilling it: it's a process of becomingaware about our right relationship with other entities in existence and by that discovering the interconnectedness, coexistence and other within the entire existence, and living accordingly.
5. Self-exploration helps in discovering the definitiveness of human conduct and human character and enabling one to be definite in thought, behaviour and work.
6. It's a process of being harmonious in oneself and in harmony with entire existence: This process of self-explorationhelps us to be in harmony with ourselves and with everything around.
7. Self-exploration helps in identifying one’s innateness and moving towards self-organization and self-expression.
Ethical Vision
Ethics can be defined as “A branch of philosophy concerned with that which is deemed acceptable in humanbehaviour, with what is good or bad, right or wrong in human conduct in pursuit of goals and aims.” In other words, ethics explores the fundamental nature of rights, of moral responsibilities, and ways of addressing and tackling an ethical problem.
Every system of ethics has a vision of how an ideal society would be. All ethics, like a vision, contains hope for a better society according to its laws. They both can propose and predict what the future would be according to them.
Ethics and visions are ambitious, ideal, conscious, sometimes hopeful and determined. In other words, an ethical vision aims at the betterment of society through ethical means. Therefore, an ethical vision aims at the following:
- Quality of life - people being contended with their life experiences;
- Health, human potential, empowerment, growth and excellence - individuals being healthy, conscious of the entirety of their potential, recognizing their power to bring that potential into being, growing into it, living it, and, generally, doing the best they can with it, individually and collectively;
- Freedom and responsibility - individuals being free and responsible in choosing the ways in which they decide to live their lives;
- Justice - individuals living lives whose results are fair and right for everyone;
- Dignity, integrity, worth and fundamental rights of people, organizations, communities, societies, and other human systems;
- All-win attitudes and cooperation - people possessing a caring attitude toward one another and about working together to achieve results that work for everyone, individually and collectively;
- Authenticity and openness in relationships;
- Effectiveness, efficiency and alignment - people achieving the utmost of desired results, at minimum cost, in ways that coordinate their individual energies and purposes with those of the system-as-a-whole, the subsystems of which they are parts, and therefore the larger system of which their system may be a part;
- Holistic, systemic view and affected parties’ orientation - understanding human behaviour from the perspective of entire system or systems that influence and are influenced by that behaviour; recognizing the interests that different people have within the system's results and valuing those interests fairly and justly;
- Wide participation in system affairs, confrontation of issues resulting in effective problem solving, and democratic decision making.
Ethical Decisions
Decisions about right and wrong permeate everyday life. Ethics must concern all levels of life: acting as individuals, creating responsible organizations and governments, and paving the way to make society as a whole, ethical. Ethics provides a set of rules and regulations for behaviour that helps us decide how we must act in a range of situations. In a sense, it can be said that ethics is all about making choices, and about providing reasons why we must always make these choices.
Ethical decision-making refers to the method of evaluating and choosing among alternatives in a manner in line with ethical principles. In making ethical decisions, it is necessary to perceive and eliminate unethical options and choose the most effective ethical alternative.
The process of making ethical decisions requires:
- Commitment: the will to do the right thing no matter the cost
- Consciousness: the vigilance to act consistently and apply moral convictions to daily behaviour
- Competency: the ability to gather and evaluate information, develop alternatives, and foresee potential consequences and risks
- Good decisions are both ethical and effective:
- Ethical decisions generate and sustain trust; demonstrate respect, responsibility, fairness and caring; and are in line with good citizenship. These behaviours provide a foundation for formulating better decisions by setting the foundational rules for our behaviour.
- Effective decisions are effective if they accomplish what is needed to be accomplished and if they advance our purposes. A choice that produces unintended and undesirable results is ineffective. The key to making effective decisions is to consider choices in terms of their ability to accomplish our most significant goals. This means we must understand the difference between immediate and short-term goals and longer-range goals.
Process of Making Ethical Decisions
Making ethical choices requires the power to make distinctions between competing options. Below are the steps involved in making effective ethical decisions:
- Stop and think: This provides several benefits. It prevents rash decisions, prepares us for more thoughtful discernment, and can allow us to mobilize our discipline.
2. Clarify goals: Before you decide on an issue, clarify your short-term and long-term aims. Determine which of your many desires and "don't wants" affected by the choice are the most important. One of the major issues here is that decisions that fulfil immediate wants and needs can prevent the achievement of our more important life goals.
3. Determine facts: It is imperative to acquire adequate information to support an intelligent choice. To determine the facts, first resolve what you already understand, then what you wish to understand. Be prepared for additional information and to verify assumptions and other uncertain information. In addition:
- Consider the reliability and credibility of the individual who has provided the facts.
- Consider the basis of the supposed facts. If the person supplying you with the information says he or she personally heard or saw something, evaluate that person in terms of honesty, accuracy, and memory.
4. Develop options: Once you have a grasp on what you would like to attain and have made your best judgment regarding the relevant facts, make an inventory of actions you can take to accomplish your goals. If it's an especially crucial decision, discuss with someone you trust so you may broaden your perspective and consider new choices. If you'll consider just one or two choices, you're probably not thinking hard enough.
5. Consider consequences: Filter your choices to work out if any of your options will violate any core ethical values, and thereby eliminate any unethical options. Identify who will be affected by the decision and how the choice is likely to affect them.
6. Choose: Make a decision. If the choice is not immediately clear, try:
- Talking to people whose judgment you respect.
- Think of someone of strong character that you know or know of, and ask yourself what they might do in your situation.
- If everyone discovered your decision, would you be proud and comfortable?
- Follow the Golden Rule: Keep your promises and treat others the way you want to be treated.
7. Monitor and modify: Ethical decision-makers monitor the consequences of their choices. If they're not producing the intended results, or are causing additional unintended and undesirable results, they re-assess the case and make new decisions.
Human values are employed in many distinctively alternative ways in human discourse. It is often said that a person has a value or an object has a value. The two aforementioned usages of the word Value are explicitly recognized by writers in various disciplines like Charles Mortis in Philosophy, Brewster Smith in Psychology and Robin Williams in Sociology.
The term ‘VALUE’ comes from the Latin word ‘VALERE’ which implies ‘to be of worth’ whereas the concise Oxford Dictionary defines the term VALUE’ as the ‘worth, desirability or utility of a thing’.
In fact, it's difficult to define values, for they are as comprehensive in a nature as our human life. Another definition of the term 'Value' states that Value is that which renders anything useful, worthy or estimable. It is price, worth or significance of an object.
Value, in general, can be defined as “a concept explicit of implicit, distinctive of a person or characteristics of a group of those desirable traits which influence the choice from available modes and ends of action.”
Values are defined as something which are desirable and worthy of esteem for their own sake. Human values may be referred to as those values which help human beings to live in harmony with the world.
Values that may be incorporated within the general definition of human values are love, brotherhood, respect for others — including plants and animals — honesty, sincerity, truthfulness, non-violence, gratitude, tolerance, a general sense of responsibility, cooperation, self-reliance, secularism and internationalism.
Classification of Values
Values can be classified into five core values. They include: (1) Right conduct, (2) Peace, (3) Truth, (4) Love, and (5) Nonviolence.
1. Values related to Right Conduct include:
- Self Help Skills: Care of possessions, diet, hygiene, modesty, posture, self-reliance, and tidy appearance
- Social Skills: Good behaviour, good manners, good relationships, helpfulness, No wastage, and good environment
- Ethical Skills: Code of conduct, courage, dependability, duty, efficiency, ingenuity, initiative, perseverance, punctuality, resourcefulness, respect for all, and responsibility
2. Values related to Peace Include:
Attention, calmness, concentration, contentment, dignity, discipline, equality, equanimity, faithfulness, focus, gratitude, happiness, harmony, humility, inner silence, optimism, patience, reflection, satisfaction, self-acceptance, self-confidence, self-control, self-discipline, self-esteem, self-respect, sense control, tolerance, and understanding
3. Values related to Truth include:
Accuracy, curiosity, discernment, fairness, fearlessness, honesty, integrity (unity of thought, word, and action), intuition, justice, optimism, purity, quest for knowledge, reason, self-analysis, sincerity, sprit of enquiry, synthesis, trust, truthfulness, and determination.
4. Values related to Love include:
Acceptance, affection, care, compassion, consideration, dedication, devotion, empathy, forbearance, forgiveness, friendship, generosity, gentleness, humanness, interdependence, kindness, patience, patriotism, reverence, sacrifice, selflessness, service, sharing, sympathy, thoughtfulness, tolerance and trust
5. Values related to Non-violence include:
- Psychological values: Benevolence, compassion, concern for others, consideration, forbearance, forgiveness, manners, happiness, loyalty, morality, and universal love
- Social values: Appreciation of other cultures and religions, brotherhood, care of environment, citizenship, equality, harmlessness, national awareness, perseverance, respect for property, and social justice.
Universality of Values
A value may be a universal value if it's an equivalent value or worth for all, or the majority of, people. Spheres of human value encompass morality, aesthetic preference, human traits, human endeavour, and social order. Universal values are agreed upon as the most important of values unanimously. Examples of universal values include Sanctity of human life, Peace, and human dignity. Most human values are considered universal as they are the foundational pillars that define human conduct. And as human behaviour and responsibilities towards the society is universal, human values are also universal.
The claim for universal values are often understood in two alternative ways . First, it may be that something encompasses a universal value when everybody finds it valuable. Second, something could have universal value when all people have reason to believe that it has value. Many different things have been claimed to be of universal value, for instance, fertility, pleasure, and democracy. The issue of whether anything is of universal value, and, if so, what that thing or those things are, has relevancy to psychology, social science, and philosophy, among other fields.
Below are examples of some values that may be considered universal:
- Dependability
- Reliability
- Loyalty
- Commitment
- Open-mindedness
- Consistency
- Honesty
- Efficiency
- Innovation
- Creativity
- Good humour
- Compassion
- Spirit of adventure
- Motivation
- Positivity
- Optimism
- Passion
- Respect
- Fitness
- Courage
- Education
- Perseverance
- Patriotism
- Service to others
- Environmentalism
