{"id":1613,"date":"2020-07-17T12:34:35","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T12:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetalkshop.in\/?p=1613"},"modified":"2020-07-27T11:19:08","modified_gmt":"2020-07-27T11:19:08","slug":"ethics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetalkshop.in\/blogs\/ethics\/","title":{"rendered":"Ethics: Right and Wrong"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The single most important course of loss of productivity is Ethics<\/strong> in a world where familiar markers of behaviour have been demolished by fast-paced social change (Durkheim<\/a>).<\/em> When faced with an important decision, people find it hard to choose one over the other. This leads to a paralysis brought about by what S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard<\/em> (1813-1855) calls Anxiety<\/strong> (Wikipedia<\/a>). Unfortunately, all of social science and management will only be of help to us implement the choice once it is made, but they offer little help in making the choice. So how do we know which is the best right way forward? The biggest tragedy is the tragedy of numbers. Saying that “….when faced with such choices 90% of the people chose the left option.” Does not automatically make it the right choice. Simply put, knowing what IS the case so far does not automatically tell us what OUGHT to be (Davide Hume<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Picture Credit<\/strong>: Wikimedia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Normative Ethics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One can think of two different ways of studying ethics, descriptive<\/em> and normative<\/em>. A descriptive study of ethics probably brings us closer to Cultural Anthropology, however a normative ethics deals with what is the right way to act. This leads us to the question of who decides what is right and what is wrong? Is there really an absolute description of what is right and wrong, or is it relative? The Church (BBC<\/a>)? Or our inner conscience? It seemed like a complex and tangled issue. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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<\/strong>Picture Credit<\/strong>: Flickr<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Descriptive Ethics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most college students who take a course in ethics find themselves with no clearer idea of what they should do. Our education is biased towards Science, a descriptive understanding of the world we live in. In contrast, ethics is about which course of action to take. Many if most courses limit themselves to the study of ethics as a descriptive science, rather than explore the possibility of a normative enquiry. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Take a look at a course on Justice at Harvard University<\/strong>……<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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