Ways to be wrong and how to be right.

Philosophy Forums Philosophy
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WAYS TO BE WRONG
(with thanks to Rush Kidder)

(S) Violations of law.

(E) Departure from truth: False-to-fact statements; being mistaken about empirical conditions and evidence.

( I ) Deviation from honesty, justice, and responsibility. Calling in sick when you are not. Personal corruption. Being willing to ‘put a person down.’ Intentionally inflicting harm. Cruelty, lying, abuse, being manipulative, throwing one’s weight around, deliberately hurting someone – we know that’s wrong!

Examples: I say I will meet you for lunch at noon. I do something else instead and I don’t bother to call you. Or, quoting Kidder,“a doctor urges upon a patient an expensive procedure when a less-expensive treatment would do. …A politician presents opposed and conflicting promises to different groups. These things are wrong not because they violate law or fail to comport with fact, but because they go against the moral grain. They don’t square, in other words, with the code of inner value that is so widely shared and broadly understood that it defines - at least for our place and time - the difference between right and wrong.”(Excerpted from HOW GOOD PEOPLE MAKE TOUGH CHOICES: Resolving the dilemmas of ethical living by Rushworth M. Kidder (NY: Simon & Schuster, 1955).

There are two basic assumptions that many people (including those who obstruct the implementing of good ideas in government) hold on to:

(1) “I am superior to other individuals.”

(2) “Violence is a way to solve problems.”

Those lead to many an injustice that we face. It leads to premature death. These confused cognitive beliefs lead to the waging of war, which in turn - among other factors outlined by Arnold J.Toynbee - brings down the civilizations that engage in those wars. It leads to machine-guns employed in rapid massacres, such as at Sandy Hook Elementary School Or Mei Lai, Vietnam.

Those two self-sentences (that we repeat to ourselves until we come to believe them) rank with some others relevant to Ethics such as: “What’s in it for me? ('cause life is about getting, not giving)”;

“Why should I care (about those outside my family, my tribe); I don’t care about them”;

“Money can buy me happiness!” “Greed is good.”

“Everyone has their price …make me an offer.”

“A single feature (characteristic) can tell us a lot about a whole group who share that feature.[such as skin color or gender]”

Those are basic among the false beliefs that we tell ourselves. There are plenty of others.

What is the remedy? Education. Especially education in Ethics.

WAYS TO BE RIGHT
(with thanks to Lori Pierelli)

“Ethics” she writes “describes what is acceptasble conduct in society. Ethics serves as a guide to moral daily living and helps us judge whether our behavior can be justified. While ethics is a societal concern, it is of critical importance to the professions that serve society” and it is only as good as the quality of individual morality.

Mores are values “defined as the acts, customs and institutions that a group of people regard in a favorable way.

Value judgments “typically contain words [and gestures] of approval, disapproval, and obligation. However, value judgments do not have to contain specific value words. “That is a lie” does not contain a particular word of disapproval but the implication that a lie is wrong is understood.”

Integrity: “To have integrity is to be honest and sincere.”
Integrity - as Lori P. defines it - “is adhering to a moral code in daily decision-making. Integrity is one of the most important characteristics an individual can have. Put simply, when people and businesses possess integrity, it means they can be trusted.

Character: Character drives what we do when no one is looking. Each person has the ability to build, change, or even destroy his or her own character… We can build our character through the way we live – by thinking good thoughts and performing good acts.”
– quoted from BOMI’s Ethics is Good Business – Short Course.

Actually, life is more about giving than getting - as I argue in my other posts and threads.

We need to say to ourselves “We’re all in this together. What helps you helps me. I get it.” Until one has this attitude s/he is not truly educated. Once we acquire enlightened-self-interest we will see things this way.

Conclusion: A sense of ethics, living it, having a good character, and having integrity are important for building trust, and are “ways to be right.”

Do you want to be right?

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I plan on addressing this post over the weekend. Feel privileged. :slight_smile:

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[size=150]We know there are problems in the U.S.A. That is not exactly news. Let’s not waste energy whining about it. Let’s be solution-minded.
[/size]
:bulb: Is this the answer for teaching others the fundamentals of Ethics? : [size=200] You will make money and have a better sex life if you learn Ethics and live it …put it into practice.[/size]

:wink:

Obviously, the first three posts here at this link viewtopic.php?f=1&t=185000&p=2447911#p2447911 are not enough to convince a sufficient number of the American public that ethics is necessary, and to reach a tipping point which enables the rest of the world to see it too… :

Once we learn it, and live it, we set a shining example.
And that will speak louder than words.

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A student once protested the concept that the world is getting better in the sense that ethics is catching on. He put it this way “You can’t make people take things to heart, if they don’t have the inclination or capacity to do so. Any new application of ethics must address this fundamental problem: that selfishness has a greater genetic heritage.”

I responded by presenting this perspective: Yes, that selfishness of which you speak shows up often in very young children: their world is (– and even, for some, into the teens, or beyond -) often self-centered.

It can’t be biological (genetic), however, since certain cultures, including some Amerindian ones, raise kids to think equally about their family and/or tribe, as they do about “What’s in it for me?”

The infant, though, seems to care most about his/her own self; yet, ironically, the baby gives to the world …for most who behold it tend to smile, and feel better than before the encounter.

As to ‘the fundamental problem’, there are two solutions: one is the critical mass concept, that if enough folks who inhabit the planet hold a certain idea as their guide it becomes part of the ethos, the planetary mores …and the rest may be swept along as they scurry to conform – to “go along to get along.”

The other possible solution is that, via the internet, via You Tube, and broadcast television, a short course in the new paradigm for ethics would be available. In four to six little lessons it would not only teach a person what moral goodness is, but would also give homework exercises in the practice of goodness on which to report back to the class, for feedback and discussion of the experience and its results.

Social media, as you know, spreads information rapidly. This keeps hope alive, for it can spread good information - about moral goodness - as well as it can - and does - spread trivia. By means of intensive education stating the ethical principles clearly and understandably, it can succeed in turning out students who in their hearts want justice and respect for human dignity as much as Nelson Mandela did. (He passed away in December, 2013, at 95). He can serve as a role-model for what an ethical life can be, and the miracles it can achieve.

Such courses in living ethically are already under development, and are being implemented both by Peter Demerest at this site HERE amindforsuccess.com
as well as another version by Dr. David Mefford for The World Bank, to be put into effect - when ready - in developing nations.

How do you feel about these topics?

Any comments?