How can we know, if at all, that our behaviour is ethical?

Why do people act wrongly, when they know full well what right conduct demands? According to Newsweek magazine, million dollar Wall-Street scandals have affected our economy by individuals not being aware of correct ethical standards. At any rate, can the teaching of ethics really help cleanse the business world of its shady deals? In summarizing Newsweek’s comments, the problem is not that people lack ethical standards or are incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong; rather educators are not challenging students to act on these standards. Even in today’s complex world, knowing what is right is fairly straightforward, but doing what is right is difficult.

Like Newsweek, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle has been known to investigate ethical standards in Book Seven, Nicomachean Ethics. In this book, Aristotle used the word akrasia, which presented a challenge for moral teaching. Aristotle’s insights into akrasia and moral instruction were made up into a popular belief. This belief begins with a restrained person who follows their logical thoughts and an unrestrained person who abandons their logical thoughts and acts contrary to them. Although said in ancient times, this belief about akrasia is still held widely today. For example, a child who is restrained would probably be afraid of the darkness but logically would know there is nothing to be afraid of. On the other hand, a child who is unrestrained might be afraid of the dark, know there is nothing to be afraid of, but cry to its mother about the darkness anyway.

Better judgement is where individuals tend to separate their feelings from their logical thoughts and come up with a conclusion. For the child, their better judgement is to distinguish between putting their feelings into action or ignoring them. By putting feelings into action, the child may feel at ease because onlookers can attempt to comfort or assist the child’s feelings that are being exposed. However, when these feelings are ignored and not acted upon, they tend to “bottle up” inside an individual and sometimes that person can no longer hold these feelings at bay causing an outburst of foolish behaviour. Relating to the previous example, if the child cried out to its mother and the mother did not listen to the child, the child might have a “temper tantrum” in order to be heard.

When exploring better judgment, one often assumes that correct reasoning leads to correct ethical behaviour. However, correct reasoning can sometimes conflict with an individual’s actual behaviour. Feelings can be categorized into two main methods, particular and universal. First of all, the particular method is based on a specific feeling being followed out without looking at all the consequences. In contrast, when categorizing the universal method, one breaks down their feelings and determines their consequences. Using the particular method could result in a greater flaw than the universal method when exploring one’s feelings. Therefore, when using better judgement, one has ...

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Strong feelings and emotions also play a role in how our behaviour is determined. Such feelings can clearly direct our behaviour toward certain ideas and concepts. For example, a student might have a bad first impression of a teacher and assume that they are horrible, although the teacher might actually be a pleasant individual. Even though the student knows full well that they should resist this strong feeling, which is only based on superficial appearances, the student continues thinking the teacher is horrible. In this situation, the student’s feelings are so strong that they conflict with what his behaviour should actually be.

A wide range of feelings and emotions shape our behaviour. These feelings can be broken down, ranging from pleasure to pain. Our feelings and emotions make us pursue pleasure, while our senses force us away from pain. When experiencing pain and pleasure we gain awareness of the feelings around us and how to deal with them in the future. For example, a relationship that has experienced pain might change an individual’s feelings about choosing a relationship bond in the future. This range of feelings does not distinguish “good” feelings from “bad” feelings, but only pursues whatever happens to feel appropriate at a certain time. With conscious effort, however, this range of feelings can direct one’s thoughts towards the correct ethical behaviour. After time, practicing ethical behaviour will grow with this person and the correct behaviour will become a natural thing to perform.

Learning to act correctly is one thing, but accepting a behaviour to be ethical is another thing. By learning to act correctly, one simply behaves in a manner that is neutral to all things, but when accepting a behaviour to be ethical one must endorse this behaviour. Endorsing an ethical behaviour means that one accepts a behaviour and acknowledges it as a natural thing to do. Ethics is a guideline to assist people who already act correctly, but want to know when to make the correct judgments for their behaviour. In other words, ethics assist people in making correct choices for their actions.

Even to this day, individuals follow the teachings of religions to determine what correct ethical behaviour should be. Attempting to instill morals and values to their believers, religions imitate the virtuous qualities of a supreme being. For Jews, Christians, and Muslims, “The Torah,” “The Bible” and “The Koran” reveal statements and parables demonstrating correct behaviour for their followers. Rules for our ethical behaviour have been laid out in these books and have formed the basis of ethical behaviour for thousands of years. However, in today’s society, our ethical behaviour is based more on what humanity has deemed to be ethical and less on religious teachings.

“A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary.”

Ethical behaviour does not “pop into” one’s head, but is received from mentors by basic principles. This mentor - a parent, teacher, or friend - points out correct conduct and behaviour in an individual’s life. After a flawed behaviour is performed, the mentor points out the flaw and as a result, the person usually goes through a process of transformation. In this process, the individual with the flaw usually recognizes what they did wrong and attempts to modify their actions. Not only do they modify their actions, this person integrates this behaviour as a part of their life for performing future actions. Sometimes, however, this integrating process of following correct ethical behaviour is not obeyed. As a consequence, the flawed individual knows about the correct ethical behaviour, but finds it challenging to obey. Thus, this individual might cause a potential challenge of a conflict in ethical behaviour to be born.

How can we change our ethical behaviour? It is hard, but not impossible, to change our feelings and actions to conform to a behaviour that is ethical. Since an individual has the choice of choosing their behaviour, it is difficult for a mentor to persuade this individual to act in the correct way. Arguments may erupt and become forceful between the mentor and the one with the choice over their behaviour. No amount of argument can compel ethical conduct. However, when attempting to change an individual’s behaviour, the mentor should do so in a compassionate manner.

When ethical behaviour is taught, it takes place within the context of certain issues of social values and norms, which are standards or models regarded as typical. Without these norms, mentors would have no guide for shaping behaviour to suit a correct standard. In regard to this, the kind of teaching one receives is based on the kind of society in which one lives. In many third world countries, bribery is considered to be the normal way of doing business because that is how many government officials earn sufficient money to sustain themselves.

“Grub first, then ethics.”

However in North America bribery is definitely not ethical behaviour. The way to truly understand these teachings is to self-evaluate our actions and become more perceptive of the appropriate ethical behaviour.

As children, if individuals are exposed to correct ethical behaviour, such incidents as the Wall Street scandals, would never had taken place. Individuals who exhibit this type of unethical behaviour lack the character to carry out such illegal and immoral actions as adults. Children that witness a great deal of unethical behaviour can still manage to overcome the past and grow into adults whose actions correctly use ethical behaviour. As a child, if you are taught right from wrong, you will be brought up with proper ethical behaviour. In a perfect world, a uniform, ethically behaved society would be able to distinguish between what is right and wrong and accordingly act upon it. Today’s educators and parents must do more to emulate appropriate behaviour, so children will know that their behaviour is ethical.

Bibliography

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics; Hackette Publishing Company; Indianapolis; 1985 p.172

Newsweek. The Business Ethics Debate, (May 29, 1987) p.36

The Quotation Page; (November 4, 2002)

“The Business Ethics Debate,” Newsweek (May 29, 1987) p.36

Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics; Hackette Publishing Company; Indianapolis; 1985 p.172

Einstein, Albert (1879-1955)

Brecht, Bertolt (1898-1956)