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Moral Thinkers & Ethical Traditions
GS-IV: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
Useful for: UPSC Civil Services
Overview
Indian and Western thinkers provide frameworks and quotations that strengthen ethics answers when applied, not just quoted.
Key points
- Buddha: the middle path and right conduct; Kautilya: welfare of subjects as the king’s welfare.
- Gandhi’s seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice.
- Socrates: "the unexamined life is not worth living"; Plato: cardinal virtues; Aristotle: virtue and the golden mean.
- Kant: categorical imperative and respect for persons.
- Bentham and Mill: utilitarianism; Mill also defended liberty and the harm principle.
- John Rawls: justice as fairness, the "veil of ignorance" and the difference principle (inequalities must benefit the least advantaged).
Practice MCQs
From the perspective of definition and scope, which one of the following statements about Moral Thinkers & Ethical Traditions is correct?
- Moral Thinkers & Ethical Traditions has no exceptions or limitations in exam analysis.
- Ethical thinkers provide frameworks for duty, virtue, consequences, justice, freedom, compassion and public responsibility.
- Quoting a famous thinker without applying the idea is sufficient ethical analysis.
- Moral Thinkers & Ethical Traditions is unrelated to institutions, processes or real-world applications.
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Answer: (b) Ethical thinkers provide frameworks for duty, virtue, consequences, justice, freedom, compassion and public responsibility.. Ethical thinkers provide frameworks for duty, virtue, consequences, justice, freedom, compassion and public responsibility.
Consider the following statements on Moral Thinkers & Ethical Traditions, focusing on definition and scope: 1. Quoting a famous thinker without applying the idea is sufficient ethical analysis. 2. Ethical thinkers provide frameworks for duty, virtue, consequences, justice, freedom, compassion and public responsibility. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
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Answer: (b) 2 only. Statement 2 is correct; Statement 1 is a common misconception.
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