Ethics as covert rigidity
“No. I will not declare something that is untrue”, was their response to my query.
I frowned and immediately felt a tightness in my throat and stomach. Within seconds, thoughts were racing in my head and my anger and need to justify myself and my integrity were building up rapidly. “Are they calling me a fraud?”, I thought to myself. “Where did this come from?
”I have provided them with all the necessary, legal information and the only thing they need to do, as an employer, is to fill in an online application on my behalf. I’ve even provided them with examples of applications from my previous employers to ease their efforts and create more clarity. Its a legal process I’ve been following for years! And in the end of the day, they are simply the means to help me prove my actual employment situation. Nothing more, nothing less. Nothing untrue about that. Yes, ok, the specific form is not exactly tailored to my situation so some of the fields do not apply as is, yet this is the form I’ve been asked to submit in my case as well” …
Thoughts and arguments continue to fill up my mind almost uncontrollably. I’m feeling offended and I’m in an argument with myself to justify my actions. As soon I realize it, I pause in an attempt to calm my strong feelings down. “They are simply not familiar with the process and they act reluctantly”, I affirm to myself. “Nothing personal with me.” Then, I write my response- as calmly as I can- and press “send’’ hoping that the situation will be smoothly resolved shortly.
Right then, this question came to mind: What is the fine line that separates ‘ethics’ from ‘rigidity’? My intuitive answer would be: in the underlying intention and driving feeling we operate from.
Ethics is essentially a set of agreed rules within a social group. These rules stem from certain values and intentions. Ethical rules always match intentions (most often unconscious intentions I am afraid).
When we operate out of fear, our (unconscious) intention is to protect ourselves. When we seek to protect ourselves we tend to become rigid, stiff, unmovable, closed off. But no-one likes to be called rigid, so we found another word for it: we call ‘that aspect of ourselves’ ethical and we wear this as a badge that makes us feel better and superior than others. We are essentially proud of our inability to adapt, explore and learn from new or different perspectives, experiences and even the uncertainty of life itself! Perhaps you don’t agree with me and that’s ok. You don’t have to. Yet, I’d like you to think for a moment what ‘type’ of people in our society call themselves or are called by others ‘ethical’. How would you describe the ethical aspect of their character? Easy going? Open minded? Friendly? Adaptable? Or perhaps the exact opposite?
Ethics as a ‘mind concept’ or ‘ philosophy’ was born out of the need to control people within a society (i.e. fear). As any other man made concept, ethics is (or ought to be) often subjected to enquiring and review alongside with the evolution of people and societies.
Ethics, according to google, is a set of ‘ Rules of conduct in a particular culture or group recognized by an external source or social system”. By this term do you understand ethics as a progressive ideology which stems from the intention of openness and inclusion?
In another definition ethics is explained as “ the principles that guide our behavior toward making the best choices that contribute to the common good of all”. Here ethics implies inclusivity. Yet, in our current societies is not the ‘ethical set of rules’ that adapts so that everyone is included to their benefit but instead is the people that need to adapt themselves to be included in the social group they’d like to belong in. We must have something misunderstood here, then isn’t it?.
However, before we can even start making or changing rules (whether at a personal or social level) we need to become aware of our intentions. When our intentions are actually for the common good of all, then and only then the ethical (or other) rules we create will also be for the common good of all.
