What is meant by environment ethics? Why is it important to study? Discuss any one environmental ethics. (Civil Services Examination 2015)

Environmental ethics is a branch of ethical philosophy which studies the relation of human and non-human world and how ethics plays a role in it.it take into account not just human beings but also other living beings plants and animals.it includes moral obligation of human beings towards environment. It is important to study the environmental ethics because

Determining environmental impact of our Activitiesby knowing the environmental impact of our activities, we can take steps to design environment-friendly projects and technologies. 

Better policy formulation and implementation for ensuring inclusive and sustainable development, we will be able to formulate and implement better policies.

Changing Attitude of peopleconservation and sustainable use of environmental resources can be achieved only when we succeed in changing attitude of people. Forthis, environmental ethics is crucial.

Environmental issue-Pollution

Pollution of air, water and soil is a major environmental issue concerning humanity. Various initiatives like making laws, rules and regulations, etc. have been taken, but they have met with only limited success. People have less value for environment as they place their personal well-being at much higher pedestal than environmental wellbeing. For solving the issue of environmental pollution, we need to include the ethical prospective in our interaction with the environment.

For example the persuasion tactics used by the government through swatch bharath abhiyan, for spreading awareness about the need of clean environment is a step in the right direction.it will help in changing attitude of people from apathy to compassion and will encourage them to actively curb pollution.

B. Differnititate between the following

(Civil Services Examination 2015)

• i.law and ethics
• ii.ethical management and management of ethics
• iii.discrimination and preferential treatment
• iv.personal ethics and professional ethics.

• law and ethicslaws are system of rules that are enforced through social institution,in order to govern our behaviour.laws are made by legislature,or by executive(ordinances).it prescribed what one must do.violation of law may involve  penality or punishment.law can be enforced by various agencies or though court of law.
• Ethics  are standards of right and wrong that prescribes what humans ought to do.ethics can control every human emotion or behaviour but law cannot.ethics helps an administrator in using his/her discretionary powers in a more normal way.There are various sources for ethical standards like the organisation,profession,social norms, religion etc.Not adhering to ethical principles may or may not involve punishment.ethics are enforced in an informal,manner through process like conformity,social reflections,etc
• Ethical management and Management of Ethics Ethical management refers to inclusion of ethical dimension in management of institutions like government,NGOs and privete firms,e.g.,training of managers and workers to make them ethically literate and professional.
• Management of ethics refers to creating a code,norms or policy for members of society or institutions,to assure their compliance towards ethical behaviour eg..formulating and code of conduct for organisation or profession like civil services ,law,etc..
• Discrimination and preferential treatment  Discrimination is a negative concept,which involves denial of social participation of certain categories of people,based on prejudices.it violates the basic human rights of individual.it is against the concept of social justice.our constitution prohibits any kind of discrimination,like practising untouchability is discriminatory. 
• Preferential treatment on the other hand is a positive concept,which involves favouring  certain sections of society  which are at  disadvantage and cannot complete at equal level.it may be for rectifying some historical disadvantages suffered by the community.it promotes social justice.our constitution provides for preferential treatment under certain circumustances eg.,provisions related to reservation.
• personal ethics and professional ethicsPersonal ethics      refers to the morals and values,which we hold as a standards for governing our life.They help in shapping our character.They determinr our behaviour  and attitude with the people we know personally,eg.,speaking truth,respecting elders.
• Professional eyhics involves adherence to code of conduct laid down at work place.our personal views and concerns about any topic are overshadowed by the protocol of the organisation.They influence our professional career,eg.,punctuality,equality in treatment,fairness in delivering justice etc..
• a. The current society is plagued with widespread trust-deficit.what are the consequences of this situation for personal well-being and for societal well-being?what can you do at the personal level to make yourself trust worthy?

(Civil Services Examination 2014)

Trust –deficit happendue to lack of integrity level like at individual,society or government.the high level of diversity of views and perception also makes indian society more vulnerable to trust  deficit among two or more people.

• Mutual isolation and hatred among two or more people.
• The society will become fractured and the fabric of humane society will be torn to shreds.
• Poor social capital will be generated.
• Communal violence.
• Poor optimisation of resource.
• Diversion of resources to maintain law and order.ineffective government as every public organisatio is accepted only when it is trusted by people.
• Less unity and integrity among people.
• Poor ommunication leading to more trust-deficit.
• Stagnation of society.

To become trustworthy,an individual should maintain complete integrity and honesty.if people are remaining true to oneself and fulfilling one’s commitments would be right steps.if people are open with each other and communicate properly also show empathy,trust level will iprove.in addition,one mustalso show empathy and compassion towards people.considering everyone equal and staying away from regionalism,communalism,casteism and racism can reduce trust-deficit.

b.it is often said that poverty leads to corruption.However,there is no dearth of instances where affluent and powerful people indulge in corruption in a big way.what are the basic causes of corruption among people?support your answer with examples.

(Civil Services Examination 2014)

corruption stem from use of public resources for private gains.it is often seen that holder of corruption has the potential to threaten economic stability,dampen economic growth,weaken organisational capacity and lessen resources availability for welfare measures.

Corruption can be cited as one of the main reason for poverty in india.it is said that por indulge in corruption for monetary gains.however the disease is much more pervasive than it appears.both rich and poor are involved in corruption.

Some of the potent reasons that give rise to corruption and foster it are

All pervasive materialistic culture in the era of globalisation,success is measured by the amount of money one possesses.as ghandhiji rightly pointed out that,there is enough for people’s need but not for their greed.

Discreation and monopoly of governmnent it is generally recognised that monopoly and discretion increase the propensity to corruption,while competitionand transperancy reduces corruption.this is evident in the sectors corruption.This is evident in the sectors like telecom,steel,cement,sugar,etc.where enhanced supply and choice has reduced corruption.

Desire for unfair gains people resort to unfair means like bribery,extortion,nepotism among others to get ahead of others for which the public pays the price.

Lack of  punitive measures government and legal institutions fail to impose proper sanctions on offenders.less probability of getting caught and long delay in judicial process causes people to indulge freely in corrupt prctices.further,there is no incentive for integrity and probity in public life.honest bureaucrats like ashok khemko are punished instead of getting recorded.

Lack of transparency Lack of transparency of clearly visible in the culture and institution of government.any political parties are reluctant to share information under RTI.rules,procedurs and objectives of the government are not freely available in public domain.

• Anger is a harmful negative emotion.it is injurious to both personal life and work life.
• Discuss how it leads to negative emotions and undesirable behaviors.
• how can it be managed and controlled?

(Civil Services Examination 2016)

Anger is negative emotion which is an outcome of lack of emotional intelligence.it is also an outcome of biased attitude and lack of rational thinking anger often leads to an undesirable beheviour both in work and personal life and also it generates feeling of retribution. Following examples suggests so An investigating officer could not find a breakthrough in a sensational case and, if the SP admonishes him by citing incapability, then the crime branch officer due to anger would admonish his subordinates and this would in turn create an unpleasant atmosphere and would hamper the investigation further. Likewise, if the same officer on going to home behave rudely with family members can even create disharmony in home. Anger makes a person impolite and it would aggravate the social environment.

anger can be managed and controlled by following steps

• By joining professional courses where team activities, role paly games etc. Helps one in identifying one’s behavior and developing quality of emotional intelligence.
• Help of psychiatrist could also be sought at times.
• Also practice of meditation and yoga has proved to be effective in anger management.

Anger would lead to disaster is a universal truth as clearly noticeable from the history of mankind in the form of wars and the  faster the people control this negative emotion the better it would be for the world to see peace everywhere.

7.Some people feel that values keep changing with time and situation,while others strongly believe that there are certainuniversal and external human values.Give your perception in this regard with due justification.

(Civil Services Examination 2013)

Values are elements in life that we hold as important or desirable.values help us in making decisions at every step of life.values are permanent but their significance may depend upon the time eg., nationalism and non-violence are the values,popular in 1930s-40s.Now meterialism is more important for the people.

A person’s views on whether these are good or bad,may change over time.society as a whole also evolves its values over time,when a large number of  individual values start converging on an issue like on homosexuals issue.it also depends upon the people as well as civilisation,like individualism in practicised in US but collectivim in india.on the otheer hand,certain values are eternal and universal as well,er.,murder being wrong,being truthful,etc are values which remain constant through time.

8.What is emotional intelligence and how can it be developed in people?

How does it help an individual in taking ethical decisions?

(Civil Services Examination 2013)

Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognise one’s emotions and to manage them according to the given situation.Emotional intelligence also means that one can recognise the emotional wants and needs of others and respond appropriately.

To develop emotional intelligence,people should be encouraged to the following

• Pay attention to their emotions throughout the day.
• Understand own strength and limitations.
• Take responsibility.
• Reduce stressful situations.
• Think twice before act.
• Practise connecting thoughts with emotions.
• Reducing informal communication iin the organisation.

Emotionally intelligebt person can read the situation well,he will not get distrubed by difficult and contrary conditions.He can take decisions more empathetically and can stand on them.He accepts responsibility and holds himself accountable.He can remaindemocratic despite being in adverse conditions.All these traits help an individual in making ethical decisions.