Determinants of Ethics

Q) What are the determinants of Ethics, Discuss?

A)

Ethics is shared norms or standards of right and wrong that are used in decision making. Ethics is developed over a period of time. 

Determinants:

There are several factors that determine Ethics, which can be clubbed together in the following way:

Source of Ethics

Characteristics of Individual

Impediments of Action and 

Consequences of Action

Source of Ethics:-

Ethics is inculcated and nurtured through a period of time by many factors such as:

i. Family: Family is first and foremost important source of ethics. If a mother and father democratic in nature that means they allow the children to develop rationally and to take decision by themselves, they develop democratic values such as Respecting elders, Honesty, value of time & money, Objectivity, Impartiality, Tolerance, Selflessness, e.t.c., If either mother is unsecular or father is autocratic, who tries to impose their will over the Children, They may develop the values like Selfishness, Intolerance, Apathy, Impatience, Timidness due to over powering parents/Over protection of parents, e.t.c.,

ii. Education and Its Institution: Education is one of the important source of ethics. From Teachers, a child may develop Impartiality, Honesty, Objectivity, Intelligence, Value of time, Perseverance, Tolerance and many other, which can be exhibited by teachers in their functionings.

From peers, a child can learn the values like Tolerance, Solidarity, Camaraderieship, Competitive Spirit and many other values. 

iii. Religion: It imparts the values like Empathy, Compassion, Selflessness, Leadership, Kindness and many other values.

Apart from these main institutions, a man can learn from many other sources like Caste, Mass Media, Society, Political institutions, e.t.c.,

Characteristics of individual:-

There are several factors that determines the characteristics of an individual. Such as Character, Conduct, will, e.t.c.,

* Character:- It is individual’s desires not in bits and pieces but in a system held together by certain morals and ideals. 

* Conduct:- Habitual mode of action accompanied by Character. 

* Will:- It is an expression of character.

Conduct is mainly determined by both Character and Circumstances. 

Impediments to Action:-

These are several impediments, which blocks the action of an individual. Those are:

* Fear: It is a emotional or mental reaction arises due to recognition of impending danger. 

* Passion: There are sever factors like Fear, Lust, Pride, Arrogance and others arises the passion and distracts the individual. 

* Ignorance: It is a state of absence of Knowledge of Subject, which shall be mastered by Subject. 

* Temperament: It is natural propensities of a man acting against the acquired characteristics of a man. 

Violence and Pathological States are two other factors that cause the impediments to the Action of a person. 

Consequence of the Action:- 

Consequence of the Human action also determines the Ethics. Consequence of any human action can be either Good or Bad or Indifferent. 

* Bad:- Any actions, whose Purpose or Object(End or means respectively) are bad, The consequence of that Action would also be bad irrespective of circumstances. Ex:- A lie is bad irrespective of circumstances.

* Good:- Any consequences of action, which are good, can become bad with changed circumstances. 

* Indifferent:- An action, which is indifferent, could be either good or bad with circumstances.  Ex:- Playing PubG game is indifferent. But, in prolonged addiction may cause bad results. 

These are different determinants, which moulds the Ethics in an Individual, who could able to use these determinants as a benchmark while taking decision in day-to-day life.