Crisis of Conscience – A Crisis of conscience is a strong form of ethical dilemma in which the moral agent needs to fight with inner beliefs and external circumstances. This creates a deeper inner tension or conflict and hence a great deal of mental pain.
Example –
- J. Robert Oppenheimer after Hiroshima bombing
- Dinesh Thakur Ranbaxy case [Job and life threat on one hand and public safety on the other hand]
- Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
How to solve –
- Strong emotional intelligence – Self-awareness, Social awareness and management
- Inner development (Meditation/spirituality)
- External knowledge – (Like Geeta helped Oppenheimer), laws, rules, etc
Conflict of Interest – The Situation when decisions taken in a public capacity have some vested interest in the private sphere of life
Example –
- Chanda Kochhar (Misused her position as CEO of ICICI bank for personal benefits)
- Insider trading (เคเคจเคธเคพเคเคกเคฐ เคเฅเคฐเฅเคกเคฟเคเค) (Rajat Gupta case)
- Cricket selector (His/her son came for trial)
How to solve –
- Clear rules and regulation
- Transparency in system
- Proper Audit mechanism
- Value development programs
Definition – Situation when there is conflict between two or more moral principles and moral agent need to pick one at the cost of other. Moral agents need to optimize the benefit
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Dilemma |
Example |
Remedy |
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Principle Vs preservation (เคธเคฟเคฆเฅเคงเคพเคเคค เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคธเคเคฐเคเฅเคทเคฃ/เคฐเคเฅเคทเคพ) |
IES satyendra dubey exposed corruption in highway development – Was killed |
Nehruvian Approach – National interest must be at the top |
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Professional life Vs personal life (เคตเฅเคฏเคพเคตเคธเคพเคฏเคฟเค เคเฅเคตเคจ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคจเคฟเคเฅ เคเฅเคตเคจ) |
IPS officer 24*7 Duty – Less time to family members |
Utilitarian Approach – The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number |
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Profit vs Social responsibility (เคฒเคพเคญ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคธเคพเคฎเคพเคเคฟเค เคเคฟเคฎเฅเคฎเฅเคฆเคพเคฐเฅ) Social ethics vs Economic ethics (เคธเคพเคฎเคพเคเคฟเค เคจเฅเคคเคฟเคเคคเคพ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคเคฐเฅเคฅเคฟเค เคจเฅเคคเคฟเคเคคเคพ) |
An IAS officer heading DISCOM – Dilemma to bring it out of loss vs govt’s commitment to give free electricity |
Common Goods Approach – What is good for society is good for an individual. Hence decisions should be beneficial for all members of society. |
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Preferential treatment vs non-discrimination (เคตเคฟเคถเฅเคทเคพเคงเคฟเคเคพเคฐ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคเฅเคฐ-เคญเฅเคฆเคญเคพเคต) |
Ex – Jharkhand tribal girl death from hunger due to denial of PDS (Biometric didnโt work) – Such a case demand preferential treatment |
Rights Approach – Every human being has right to live with dignity |
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Punishment vs Reward (เคฆเคฃเฅเคก เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคชเคพเคฐเคฟเคคเฅเคทเคฟเค) |
Offering flowers to those violating traffic rules = Change of heart |
Justice/Fairness approach – All equals should be treated equally. |
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End vs Means (เคธเคพเคงเฅเคฏ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคธเคพเคงเคจ) |
End – To make a bridge for better traffic management Means – Need to break a temple = Religious sentiments might get hurt |
Gandhian Approach – Both end and means should be auspicious for long-lasting impact |
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Autonomy vs Accountability (เคธเฅเคตเคพเคฏเคคเฅเคคเคคเคพ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคเคตเคพเคฌเคฆเฅเคนเฅ) |
Autonomy – To take CL (Casual Leave), PL (privilege leave) and other leaves Accountability – Of Incharge of office to get the work done on time Ex – Shri Satish Dhawan gave autonomy to APJ Abdul kalam for Rohini Satellite launch but when the launch failed, he made himself accountable for the failure |
Virtue Based Approach – The act done by a virtuous person is right. Hence the decision maker should focus on character development first and then autonomy should be provided |
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Rules vs Discretion (เคจเคฟเคฏเคฎ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคธเฅเคตเคตเคฟเคตเฅเค) |
Rules – Donโt provide PDS to anyone without proper documents Discretion – Someone dying from hunger must be provided relief |
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Loyalty vs Honesty (เคตเคซเคพเคฆเคพเคฐเฅ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคเคฎเคพเคจเคฆเคพเคฐเฅ) |
Loyalty – Towards govt in power Honesty – Expose wrongdoing if required |
Legal Approach – The action must follow the legal principles and hence must withstand the courtโs trial |
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Automation vs Employment (เคเคเฅเคฎเฅเคถเคจ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคฐเฅเคเคเคพเคฐ) |
Ex – Govt to promote AI, ML, Robotics and other cutting edge technology, on the other hand 69% jobs are at threat due to automation |
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National interest vs Humanity (เคฐเคพเคทเฅเคเฅเคฐเคนเคฟเคค เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคฎเคพเคจเคตเคคเคพ) |
Officer investigating Ajmal Kasab |
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Development vs sustainability (เคตเคฟเคเคพเคธ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคธเคเคงเคพเคฐเคฃเฅเคฏเคคเคพ/เคจเคฟเคฐเคเคคเคฐเคคเคพ) |
Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (MMRCL) to cut trees in Aarey forest Mumbai SC allowed to cut 177 trees [Penalty above than that] |
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Letter of law vs Spirit of law (เคเคพเคจเฅเคจ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคเคพเคจเฅเคจ เคเฅ เคญเคพเคตเคจเคพ) |
A traffic police challan a car carrying critical patient for overspeeding |
Virtue Based Approach – The act done by a virtuous person is always right. Hence in such a case, intentions matter. |
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Speed vs accuracy (เคเคคเคฟ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคธเคเฅเคเคคเคพ) |
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Utilitarian Approach – The Greatest Good for the Greatest Number [i.e try to maximize the outcome] |
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National security vs Privacy (เคฐเคพเคทเฅเคเฅเคฐเฅเคฏ เคธเฅเคฐเคเฅเคทเคพ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคเฅเคชเคจเฅเคฏเคคเคพ) |
Taking someoneโs fingerprint or Narco test |
Nehruvian Approach – National interest must be at top |
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Equality vs Equity (เคธเคฎเคพเคจเคคเคพ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคจเฅเคฏเคพเคฏ เคธเคเคเคคเคคเคพ) |
Reservation in administrative jobs |
Justice/Fairness approach – All equals should be treated equally. Favoritism should not be promoted |
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Seniorโs order vs public good (เคตเคฐเคฟเคทเฅเค เคเคพ เคเคฆเฅเคถ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคเคจเคคเคพ เคเฅ เคญเคฒเคพเค) |
When the superiorโs direction is against public good. Ex – A Junior canโt or shouldnโt rebel against his/her senior (Otherwise work culture gets spoiled) but also he/she shouldnโt get succumbed to wrong advice |
Legal Approach – The action must follow the legal principles and hence must withstand the courtโs trial |
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Secrecy vs Transparency (เคเฅเคชเคจเฅเคฏเคคเคพ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคชเคพเคฐเคฆเคฐเฅเคถเคฟเคคเคพ) |
Someone demanding information of national importance in RTI (RTI act section 8) |
Nehruvian Approach – National interest must be at top |
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Centralization vs Decentralization (เคเฅเคเคฆเฅเคฐเฅเคเคฐเคฃ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคตเคฟเคเฅเคเคฆเฅเคฐเฅเคเคฐเคฃ) |
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Buddhaโs Madhyam marg or Aristotleโs golden mean approach |
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Justice vs mercy (เคจเฅเคฏเคพเคฏ เคฌเคจเคพเคฎ เคฆเคฏเคพ/เคฐเคนเคฎ) |
Ex – Nirbhaya rape case. One of the culprits was a juvenile. Got only 3 year sentence (Juvenile Justice Act) Release of A.G. Perarivalan, a convict in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case seeing his satisfactory conduct in jail. |
Rights Approach Every human being has the right to live with dignity |
