Q. 1 What is ethical human conduct?
Explain in terms of values, policies and character
with appropriate examples.
ANS. The right understanding gained through self-exploration also enables us to identify the
definitiveness of human conduct which may also be called the ethical human conduct. It is the
same for all human beings. So we are also able to understand the universality of ethical human
conduct which is in consonance with the universal human values. Unless we have the right
understanding, we are not able to identify the definitiveness of ethical human conduct. It can
be understood in terms of the following:
1. Values (Mulya):
2. Policy (Niti):
3. Character (Charitra):
1. Values (Mulya): Competence of living in accordance with universal human values or the
participation of a unit in the larger order- its natural characteristics or svabhava. The values of
a human being can be enumerated as thirty, which are listed below:
A) Values in self (Jivan Mulya):
Happiness (Sukha): Definitiness of expectation (selecting/ tasting) based on definitiness of
thought manifests as happiness.
Peace (Shanti): Definitiness of thought based on definitiness of desire manifests as peace.
Satisfaction (Santosh): Definitiness of desire based on understanding manifests as satisfaction.
Bliss (Ananda): Understanding based on realization manifests as bliss.
B) Values in Human – Human Relationship (Sambandh Mulya):
Established – Values Expressed – Values
1 Visvasa (Trust) Saujanyata (Complementariness) 10
2 Sammana (Respect Sauhardra (Compliance) 11
3 Sneha (Affection) Nistha (Commitment) 12
4 Mamta (Care) Udarata (Generosity) 13
5 Vatsalya (Guidance) Sahajata (Spontaneity) 14
6 Shraddha (Reverence) Pujyata (Obedience) 15
7 Gaurava (Glory) Saralata (Ease) 16
8 Kritagyata (Gratitude) Saumyata (Self-Restraint) 17
9 Prema (Love) Ananyata (Unanimity) 18
What we need to have is the established value; the expressed value is a natural outcome.
C) Values of a Human Being in its Participation in Universal Human Order (Manav Mulya):
Perseverance (Dhirata): After understanding the system, patiently participating in it.
Bravery (Veerta): Helping other in understanding and participating in system.
Generosity (Udarta): Using our mind, body and wealth in system.
Kindness (Daya): To give opportunity or thing to a person who have ability
Beneficence (Kripa): To give ability to a person who have opportunity or thing
Campassion (Karuna): Providing both ability and thing to a person.
D) Values of Human Being in the Interaction with the Rest of the Nature (Vastu Mulya):
Utility Value (Upyogita Mulya): To prepare a physico-chemical object for nourish and
protection.
Artistic value (Kala Mulya): To ensure the long lasting utility of the object.
2. Policy (Niti): The decision (plan, program, implementation, results, evaluation) about the
enrichment, protection and right utilization of the resources (self, body and wealth – mana, tana
and dhana). Have three parts:
A) Economic Value (Artha Niti): enrichment of self, body and wealth
B) Political Value (Rajya Niti): protection of self, body and wealth
C) Policy for Universal Human Order (Dharma Niti): right utilization of self, body and wealth
3. Character (Charitra): The definiteness of my desire, thought and selection gives
definiteness to my living.
A) Sva Nari, Sva Purush: Chastity in conjugal relationship
B) Sva Dhana: Rightful production, acquisition and utilization of wealth
C) Dayapurna Vyavahar and Dayapurna Karya: Kindness in behaviour (people friendly) and
work (eco friendly)
Q 2. What do you understand by holistic technology? Briefly explain.
What is a holistic technology? Take any two such examples from the Indian tradition and
elaborate on them. (UPTU 2011 - 12)
Descrive briefly the criteria for evaluation of holistic technology. Support your answer with
an example. (MTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. The modern technologies and systems are all human inventions in response to the needs
visualized under the influence of the prevailing worldview. Accordingly, they have been
designed and optimized to the objective functions best suited to this world view. In order to
facilitate the development of holistic technologies and systems, it will be necessary to visualize
alternative objective functions and to formulate appropriate criteria for evaluation compatible
with comprehensive human goal. Generally speaking, there are three broad criteria to guide the
development of such technologies and systems, viz.,
a) Catering to appropriate needs and lifestyles,
b) People-friendly, and
c) Eco-friendly.
Criteria for Technologies
The above mentioned general criteria can be itemized into more specific form as follows:
1. Catering to real human needs
2. Compatible with natural systems and cycles
3. Facilitating effective utilization of human body, animals, plants and materials
4. Safe, user-friendly and conducive to health
5. Producible with local resources and expertise as far as possible
6. Promoting the use of renewable energy resources
7. Low cost and energy efficient
8. Enhancing human interaction and cooperation
Q 03. How do the current world views lead to contradictions and dilemmas in professional
life? – Explain.
ANS. Contradictions and Dilemmas: We can understand more clearly through
examples how the contradictions and dilemmas are inherently generated by the
prevailing worldview in which wealth maximization is perceived to be the prime
objective. In such a paradigm, ‘your loss is my gain’. Thus the other person’s happiness
seems to be in conflict with my happiness. In that case, the other people have to be
exploited for one to gain affluence and there is no possibility of mutual fulfilment in a
sustainable way. In the same way, exploitation of nature also becomes acceptable as it
helps a person to accumulate wealth easily and there is no limit to this. Let us analyse
how such a world view affects the propensity of people in different professions. Take
the example of business circles, whenever there is a scarcity of commodity due to say
– monsoon failure or other natural disturbances or wars etc, the people in general are in
distress and need succour; however in such a situation the businessmen endowed with
materialistic world view will feel elated and look at it as an opportunity to make
maximum profit. They feel that the market is ‘improving’ and they should take the
maximum advantage of it, even accentuate it by hoarding and black marketing to serve
their objective. Thus the interest of such businessmen and the consumers in general
come in direct conflict. While in reality they are expected to be mutually
complementary. In a similar way, ethical practices like adulteration and spurious
production etc. are also adopted in an attempt to increase profits- albeit at the cost of
greatly endangering public health and safety. An interesting example of the prevailing
dichotomy is evident in the advertisements that we daily come across, particularly in
case of various evidently harmful products like cigarettes, pan masala etc. Where on
one hand, the use of these products is highly glamorized to attract the consumers and
in the end there is an inconspicuous statutory warning indicating that the use of these
products is injurious to health. Thus there is clear tendency of making profits by
promoting the sale of the products which are injurious to public health. In such a
situation the dilemma as to how much importance is to be given to one’s profit and how
much to the welfare always remains unresolved.
Q 04. What do you understand by definitiveness of ethical human conduct? Why is this
definitiveness desirable?
What do you mean by definitiveness of ethical human conduct? How can it be ensured?
(UPTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. The right understanding gained through self-exploration also enables us to identify the
definitiveness of human conduct which may also be called the ethical human conduct. It is the
same for all human beings. So we are also able to understand the universality of ethical human
conduct which is in consonance with the universal human values. Each one of us wants to have
a definite conduct but presently we may not be able to ensure that. This is because we are
presently living on the basis of our pre-conditionings or assumptions which are not in
consonance with the truth or the right understanding. But, this situation neither gives
satisfaction to us not to others. We do see the human beings struggling to find out what the
right conduct is and in the process, exhibiting a wide variety of attributes. We also see people
debating endlessly about what they consider to be ethical. But unless we have the right
understanding, we are not able to identify the definitiveness of ethical human conduct. It can
be understood in terms of the following:
1. Values (Mulya) : Competence of living in accordance with universal human values or the
participation of a unit in the larger order- its natural characteristics or svabhava is known as
values. Values are a part of our ethical conduct.
2. Policy (Niti) : policy is the decision (plan, program, implementation, results, evaluation)
about the enrichment, protection and right utilization of the resources (self, body and wealth –
mana, tana and dhana).
3. Character (Charitra) : The definiteness of my desire, thought and selection gives definiteness
to my living. Definitiveness of character is the outcome of the definiteness of my behaviour
and work.
Q 05. Critically examine the issues in professional ethics in the current scenario. List any five
unethical practices in profession today and the methods being tried to curb them.
What are the reasons of unethical practices in profession today? What is the real solution to
the above problems? Give your opinion. (UPTU 2011 – 12)
Elaborate on any two practices that are unethical but still quite prevalent in profession today.
Suggest few measures to solve the problems in a sustainable way. (MTU 2010 – 11)
Mention some of the unethical practices in society today. How do the prevailing world views
lead to such unethical practices? (MTU 2011 – 12)
ANS. The unethical practices are rapidly increasing and their impact is also becoming far-
reaching. Corruption in multifarious manifestations is afflicting all the professions like a virus.
Similarly, other unethical practices are also proliferating and getting out of control. It appears
as if human ingenuity is being increasingly harnessed to devise newer and subtler ways to
thwart the ethical conduct of profession, to twist the laws and to beat the system. As a result of
this ‘epidemic’ of unethical practices, we are frequently coming across serious scams, major
economic offences and kickbacks in large scale purchases. Lapses on the part of big
organizations in ethical conduct of profession have led to large scale disasters, such as Bhopal
Gas Tragedy, the Chernobyl Disaster, etc. endangering public life and prosperity, and causing
serious degradation to environment.
This menace becomes even more serious as unethical politics are adopted collectively
by large industries, cartels, multinational corporations and even national governments. We are
also quite familiar how misleading propaganda, advertisements using sex-appeal, the influence
of show business ad celebrities are being employed to influence the public mind for promoting
all types of products which are not quite conductive to human welfare. We may enlist some
salient categories of these unethical practices as follows:
· Corruption in multiple forms and at various levels.
· Tax evasion, misappropriation and misuse of public funds.
· Misleading propaganda, unethical advertisements and sale promotion.
· Cut-throat competition.
· Exploiting the weakness of consumers through various enticements
· Adulteration and spurious production
· Endangering the health and safety of public at large.
· Hoarding and over-charging etc.
………… the list could be much longer.
Q 06. What do you mean by competence in professional ethics? Elaborate with examples.
What do you understand by competence in professional ethics? Give two examples of its
implications in industry. (MTU 2010 – 11)
ANS. Professional ethics means to develop professional competence with ethical human
conduct. Developing ethical competence in the individual (profession) is the only effective way
to ensure professional ethics. The development of ethical competence is a long term process to
be achieved through appropriate value education. As profession is only a subset of the life
activities, the competence in profession will only be the manifestation of one’s right
understanding. The salient features characterizing this competence can be summarized as
follows:
1. Clarity about comprehensive human goal: Samadhan – Samridhi – Abhay – Sah-astitva, and
its fulfilment through universal human order.
2. Confidence in oneself: Based on the right understanding of oneself and the rest of existence.
3. Mutually fulfilling behaviour: Clarity and confidence in ethical human conduct and its
correlation with sustained personal as well as collective happiness and prosperity.
4. Mutually enriching interaction with nature: Self-sufficiency in fulfilment of physical needs;
ability to assess the needs for physical facilities for the family and their fulfilment through
production systems ensuring harmony in the nature. In the light of the above, one acquires the
ability to identify and develop appropriate (people-friendly and eco-friendly) technologies,
production systems etc.
Q 8. What would be the pragmatic implications of value-based living at the four levels? Briefly
explain.
ANS. The implications of value based living can be understood in the following terms:
1. At the level of the individual – Achive happiness, peace, contentment and bliss in the self,
perseverance, bravery and generosity in living of the individual. The individual get rid of the
tensions, frustrations, depression, and other such situations
2. At the level of the family - Mutual fulfillment in relationships, prosperity in the family,
sustenance of joint families, family as the building block of societal order in place of law
enforcing bodies, respect for all without differntiation on the basis of age, gender, caste, race,
money, post, creed, etc.
3. At the level of the society – Fearlessness in the society, holistic systems for education,
health, justice, production, exchange and storage, harmony between nations, world growing as
a family. Differentiations on the basis of body, physical facilites and beliefs will be reduced.
4. At the level of nature – Co-existence of all units in nature, earth getting more and more
suited for sustenance of all entities on the globe, balance of seasons, proper development. The
problems of pollution and resource depletion can be solved.
