Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions

Private and Public Ethics – Family, Society, and Educational Institutions Ethics plays a vital role in shaping human behavior both in private and public life. Whether within the family, in society, or across educational institutions, ethical values guide how individuals interact, make decisions, and contribute to a just and responsible community.

Previous Year Questions

Year	Question	Marks
2018	Explain the role of society in inculcating human values.	5M
2021	Men’s moral advancement depends upon complete advancement of society. Discuss.	5M
2021	Family is the most important institution for the moral development of a man. Evaluate this statement.	5M

Difference in Ethics – Private & Public relationship

Type – 

• Private – Informal, Self imposed
  • Eg. –  Duty of a spouse is self imposed
• Public – Formal,  externally imposed
  • Eg. – Civil services are regulated by Department of Personnel & Training

Relationship – 

• Private – Inherited and Choosen
  • Inherited – Family, Siblings
  • Chosen – Friends, Wife, Partner
• Public – Chosen and pre defined by laws/rules
  • Business, Doctor-patient, Civil services
  • Section 21 of IPC define civil services

Guided by – 

• Private – Passion (Feelings and emotions)
  • Eg. –  Mother’s love (Emotions)
• Public – Reason (Rules and laws)
  • Eg. – Police is guided by IPC/CrPC sections

Values – 

• Private – Subjectivity, Confidentiality, Intimacy, Love, Affection, fidelity, Trust, Compassion, Responsibility, Perseverance, Cooperation, Care ethics
• Public – Objectivity, Transparency, Accountability, Efficiency, Professionalism, Nationalism, Democratic values, Competition, Justice

Shared values – 

• Private and public both – Honesty, Integrity, Compassion, Altruism, Dedication, Appreciation etc 
• Eg. – Student and teacher might share a bond of friendship. Still they need to show values like dedication and integrity to his/her work

Durability – 

• Private – Relatively permanent, Need consistent efforts
  • Eg. – A father or mother never retires 
  • In hindu mythology, Spouse even continues in next birth
• Public – Temporary in nature, Can take break [Leave, Retirement etc]

Consequences – 

• Private – More tolerance for deviation/errors –  Loss of trust and reputation for deviation
  • Eg. – Family accepts criminal after jail term
• Public – Less or little tolerance – Show cause notice, Suspension, fine or even jail term
  • Recently, Rajasthan CM suspended 3 nursing officers on absence from duty

Nature – 

• Private – Terminal, Unconditional
  • Eg. – Mother’s unconditional 24*7 duty (66% of women’s work in India is unpaid – 7.2% of the country’s GDP)  
• Public – Instrumental, Quid pro quo, Mutual benefit
  • Eg. – Civil servants get salary and other perks for the sake of duty

Governing factors/source – 

• Private –
  • Individual morality – like Empathy
  • Human values – Compassion,
  • Social norms – Respect elders, relatives, Social capital
  • Religious doctrines – 7 vows in hindu marriage, anand karaj in Sikhism
  • Law of the land – The Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007
• Public –
  • Constitution – A 14, 15, 16 etc
  • Code of conduct – All India services code of conduct 1968, Rajasthan civil services conduct rules 1971
  • Code of ethics (Hota committee)
  • Laws – IPC/CrPC/GST laws
  • Eg. – A seller and consumer relationship is regulated by consumer protection act  1986

Impact of private relationship on public relationship

Negative Impact [Hence one must avoid these]

Private act 1 – Involving relatives at the workplace

Impact on public relationship – 

• Favoritism, Nepotism = Inefficiency , Scams

Example – 

• Bollywood -> Flop films 
• Politics -> Crony capitalism -> Scam
• Coal block scam (1.86 lakh crore), PNB bank scam (14000 crore)

Private act 2 – Blind/irrational love

Impact on public relationship – 

• Wrong decisions at public place

Example – 

• Dhritrashtra in blind love of his son Duryodhana, Could not do justice with his public duty (being the King of Hastinapur) -> led to Mahabharta war

Private act 3 – Not respecting family values like fidelity or disrespecting the spouse

Impact on public relationship – 

• Lack of trust in public life -> loss of credibility 

Example – 

• Eg, Bill Clinton-Lewinsky controversy (Clinton impeached)
• Eg, Recent Vivek Bindra Controversy (Domestic violence)

Private act 4 – Patriarchal values in family (Spillover effect)

Impact on public relationship – 

• Biased towards female staff, harassment at workplace etc  

Example – 

• Eg. – #Metoo allegations, Casting couch in bollywood, honey trap

Private act 5 – Any action in private life which is against your public image

Impact on public relationship – 

• loss of credibility at workplace or public life

Example – 

• Kesab Chandra Sen opposed child marriage but married his own underage daughter to Maharaja of Cooch Bihar. Consequently his followers abandoned him and founded Sadharan Brahmo Samaj (1878)

Private act 6 – Hedonist – extravagant spending

Impact on public relationship – 

• Corruption at workplace 
• Ineligible from various constitutional / statutory “public” posts

Example – 

• Eg. – The President can remove the chairman or any other member of UPSC/RPSC/NHRC If he is adjudged an insolvent

Private act 7 – Relationship Conflict

Impact on public relationship – 

• Scrutiny in public domain or loss of trust 

Example – 

• Eg. – On one hand, Mahatma Gandhi was called as Father of nation, while on the other hand conflicting father-son relationship of Mahatma Gandhi

Private act 8 – Religious beliefs against public duty (Veg – Non Veg, Interfaith marriage, Position of women in hierarchy)  

Impact on public relationship – 

• Not able to follow laws by heart 

Example – 

• Eg. – Discriminatory Caste system in family values → Injustice with the public role [Many officers are biased and practice untouchability in office premises] , Muslim officer as excise inspector, Hindu vegetarian officer as incharge of fisheries dept

Positive Impact [Hence one must do these]

Private act 9 – Affection, care and love in private life 

Impact on public relationship – 

• Better service delivery in public life

Example – 

• Going beyond duty during kerala flood (IAS MG Rajamanickam)
• Bundi collector Ravindra Goswami (Former Doctor) treated patient in hospital during strik

Private act 10 – Peaceful family = Good mood

Impact on public relationship – 

• Better efficiency at workplace

Example –

• Barack Obama -> Good relationship with daughters and first lady Michelle Obama

Impact of Public relationship on private relationship

Negative Impact [Hence one must avoid these]

Public act 1 – Hectic work hours

Impact on Private relationship – 

• Not giving proper time to family members – Compromise with care ethics

Example – 

• 19 Hours hectic duty of an RPS officer during riots → Irritation, Frustration on childre

Public act 2 – Corruption or case of conflict of interest 

Impact on Private relationship – 

• Loss of Social and family reputation

Example – 

• Eg. – Chanda kochar (ICICI bank CEO)

Public act 3 – Uncompromisable integrity – Loss of life

Impact on Private relationship – 

• Family members suffer life time

Example – 

• Eg. – Satyendra dubey sir (IES) lost his life while exposing National highway scam

Positive Impact [Hence one must do these]

Public act 4 – Democratic values like equality of opportunity, Freedom of expression

Impact on Private relationship – 

• Creative and innovative children, better upbringing of children (Democratic parenting – Equal opportunity to girl and boy child)

Example – 

• Eg. – In 2022, IAS officer N Prabhakar Reddy enrolled his children in a government school in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh

Public act 5 – Training and studying laws 

Impact on Private relationship –

• Opposing social evils

Example – 

• Eg. – Studying The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 → Denying dowry in his/her marriage

Why Public and private relationships need to be separated ?

• To avoid conflict of interest
• To avoid personal prejudice at work
• To Avoid nepotism, favoritism and Crony capitalism
  • Acquisitive instincts and family ties lead to corruption (Plato)
• To Avoid negative Spillover effect
• It is not wise to apply to public administration the sort of moral and ethical norms we apply to matters of personal conscience – Max weber
  • Example – An RPS officer might need to give up non violence if law requires him/her to do so.

Is convergence between private and public relationships good ?

• Few values like compassion, Integrity etc have positive spillover effects.
  • Private values provide base for public values.
• Public choice theory – For better governance we need to adopt values like user friendly practices, empathy, Appreciation etc
• Anarcho-communists argue that the state and private property are interdependent institutions. The state exists to protect private property, and the owners of private property protect the state.
• Some private acts have public repercussions, hence can’t be separated.
  • Eg. – Homosexuality is not merely a private but also a public health risk
• Correcting the historical wrongs in the private domain by public acts.
  • Eg. – Sabarimala verdict, Triple Talaq verdict

Conclusion–

Complete separation of private and public life is neither desirable nor feasible. A public administrator must respect the ‘Laxman rekha‘ and use his/her emotional intelligence to maximize the benefit of self and society.

Role of family in inculcating values

Values are guiding Principles, Ideologies and beliefs which one holds dear and aspires to achieve.

• Eg. – Justice, Courage, Temperance etc.

Trick – E A T  O F F  T O P I C  D R A G O N F L I E S  H M T J K

Role of family in inculcating values

• Family is the first informal agency of socialization and hence has a great impact on a child.
• If a country is to be corruption free and become a nation of beautiful minds, I strongly feel there are three key societal members who can make a difference- the father, the mother and the teacher.”  –  A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
• An ounce of mother is a pound of priest – Spanish saying

Grandparents

Positive Values – 

• First Philosopher of a child 
• Value development – Spirituality, Morality, Yoga and meditation (Physical values)
• Fairy tales develop innovation
  • If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales – Albert Einstein 
  • Tree plantation – Environmental ethics

Negative – 

• Conservatism/orthodox thinking  or regressive values 
• Eg. – May promote untouchability or casteism, Many grandparents are against gender equality  and are responsible for child marriages, Superstition

Father

Positive Values – 

• First Guide
• Values – Dutifulness, Sacrifice, Discipline, Courage, Hard Work, Sense of security
• University of maryland study – Girls with loving father = More confident

Negative Values – 

• Aggressive father = Aggressive son (Domestic violence, Drug abuse)
• Conservative father =  Under-confident daughter

Mother

Positive Values – 

• First teacher
• Affection, Love, Sacrifice, Patience, Selflessness
• Gandhiji learned the technique of Satyagraha from her mother Putlibaai  
• All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother — Abraham Lincoln
• Every manifestation of power in the universe is Mother – Swami Vivekananda
• Nancy matthews elliott – Mother of Thomas Edison’s [Value – Innovation]
• Subhadra – Mother of Abhimanyu [Value – Courage]
• Jijabaai – Mother of Shivaji [Value – valor] 

Negative Values – 

• Blind/irrational love of mother 
• Eg. – kaikeyi’s love for Bharat – 14 years exile to lord Ram

Siblings

Positive Values – 

• Sharing and caring (Toys, Space, Eatables), Cooperation, Fraternity, team work, Forgiveness (Fight and forgive)
• Eg. – 5 Pandavas, Ram-Laxman, Zorawar Singh and Fateh singh, Phogat Sisters, Irfan and Yusuf Pathan

Negative values – 

• Over competitiveness – Aurangzeb and Dara Shikoh, Rana Sanga’s fierce struggle with his brothers Prithviraj and Jagmal, Mukesh and Anil Ambani feud

Spouse

Positive Values – 

• Supportive husband/wife – Better efficiency at work
• Eg. – Sudha Murthy wife of Narayan murthy landed 10k to start infosys

Negative values – 

• Possessiveness, toxicity in relationship, Dishonesty, Control and Dominance etc

Style of parenting

• If Democratic – Love, Tolerance, Patience , Empathy, Compassion, Impartiality, Consensus based decision making, ‘Us’ Rather than ‘Me’
  • Eg. – Upbringing of Lord Ram 
  • Orphanage study – Children with parents are more confident, have better sense of security and cognitive development than orphan children
• If Authoritarian – More Self Centric , Less Empathetic, hostile (Domestic violence) etc
  • Kim Jong II, father of Kim jong un was a  repressive and totalitarian leader
  • Joseph Stalin’s (dictator of Soviet Union) father had a drinking problem and used to beat his wife. 

• If Permissive (Neglect by parents) – Apathy, Indifference etc 

Changed family system

• Joint family – 
  • Positive – To avoid depression, Divorce, Domestic abuse, Infidelity etc 
  • Negative – lack of privacy 
• Nuclear family – Individualism, responsibility, introvert, self centric etc 
• Modernism – 
  • Positives – Gender Sensitivity, Innovative thinking, Scientific Value
  • Negatives – Increasing divorce cases (Intolerance), Juvenile delinquency, hectic work hours = Declining care ethics (nanny culture)

Role of Society in inculcating values

Society plays an important role in shaping an individual’s life right from the womb to the tomb. A person learns by observation, role playing, trial and error and conditioning in society.

Friends

Positive Values – 

• Loyalty, Empathy, Acceptance and Inclusivity,Generosity and Sharing 
• Eg. – Karna (Friend of Duryodhana), krishna (Friend of Sudama)

Negative values – 

• Conformity/peer pressure – Smoking, Alcoholism, eve teasing, Drug abuse

Relatives

Positive Values – 

• Emotional support, Social capital, Empathy, Sympathy 
• Eg. – Tiye ki baithak or funeral

Negative values – 

• Hypercompetition = Mental pressure, dowry 
• Mob Mentality – Choosing a profession incongruence with mental aptitude

Cultural context

Positive Values – 

• Sense of unity, generosity, and respect for cultural diversity
• Pride – Lokmanya Tilak used the Ganesh Utsav, to collect people and inculcate spirit of nationalism and pride among them

Negative values – 

• Racism – Buri nazar wale tera muh kaala 
• Discrimination – Untouchability (Against value of justice/fairness)

Religion

Positive Values – 

• Islam – Peace (salam alaikum), Temperance, Fasting  
• Hinduism – Ram Rajya (Welfare state), Dharma (Righteousness),  
• Jainism – Non violence
• Christianity – Mercy, Faith, Love
• Sikhism – service to humanity, sharing and caring

Negative values – 

• Irrational Obedience – Various religious leaders are accused of sexual harassment of minor girls, yet people worship them 
• Religious fundamentalism – Triple talaq, Sabarimala – Unfair to a particular gender
• Radicalisation and extremism  – Terrorism
• Justification for immoral acts – Dacoits worshiping goddess before plunder

Legal and judicial system

Positive Values – 

• Justice, Non discrimination, fairness, Equality

Negative values – 

• Gender biased laws – Adultery and stalking (Only an offense for men)

Professions/colleague

Positive Values – 

• Excellence, Efficiency, Work-Life Balance, Diversity and Inclusion, Adaptability, Innovation etc 
• Eg – Work culture of Tata, Wipro, Hero cycles etc

Negative values –

• Bullying or Harassment (Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment Act, 2013 – Visakha Guidelines 1997)
• Lack of Empathy – Hectic work hours in MNCs, Stress, Backbiting etc 
• Lack of integrity – Volkswagen scam, J&J hip replacement scam, Ranbaxy case, Google data violation

Media and cinema

Positive Values – 

• Observational learning
  • Cinema – Ramayana, mahabharata, Nationalism, Political satire (Awareness among masses), Ex – Jaspal Bhatti 
• Media – Information (Article 19), Accountability and Transparency, Cultural Diversity (Gorbandh), Environmental Consciousness (National Geo, Discovery), Democratic values (4th Pillar)

Negative values – 

• Promotes – Consumerization, Commodification or objectification 
• Paid News
• Stereotyping
• Desensitization to violence – Animal Movie

Leaders and personalities

Positive Values – 

• Unity, Nationalism, Scientific temper, Humility etc 

Negative values – 

• Some Bollywood personalities – Relative deprivation (FOMO), Drug abuse, Promotion of sin good (Daane daane me kesar ka dum) – surrogate advertisements

Changed Social system

With time society is witnessing changes like social media and religious intolerance

Social media & Urbanization

Positives – 

• Democratization of information, Entrepreneurship, Social capital
  • Eg. – Blood donation, Crowdfunding, etc

Negatives –

• Cambridge analytics – Misuse of data (Political manipulation) 
• Validation-Seeking Behavior (Likes, Dislikes)  – Inferiority complex, 
• Cyberbullying
• Misinformation and Disinformation
• Invasion on Privacy

Civil society

Positives – 

• The MKSS movement which led to RTI Act, 2005 in India inculcated the value of openness and transparency in public life.
• Environmental ethics – Chipko movement

Negatives – 

• Khap Panchayat – Informal justice
• Mob justice – Murder of Pehlu khan (2017 Alwar mob lynching)
• Naxalism movement – Violence
• Urbanization – More tolerance, if you’re living in a building with people from variety of caste, religion and regional background, you develop toleranc

Role of Educational institutes in inculcating values

• A child spends almost 1/3rd of the day in school. Hence educational institute plays a very important role in value development
• “Intelligence plus character that is the true goal of education.”– Martin Luther King 
•  True education is harmonic development of heart, Hand and head – Gandhi ji

Role of Teachers

Positives – 

• Discipline, Rational thinking
• Shaping ideology –
  • Gokhale shaped the political  ideology of Gandhiji
  • Aristotle taught morality to Alexander. Alexander never forced his culture/religion on people he defeated 
  • Chankya made Chandragupta a great ruler

Negatives –

• Corporal punishment – Aggressive behavior
• Pure commercialization of education – Materialism
• 2023 Delhi HC order – Private schools can  maintain a surplus for expansion and development without it being considered as commercialization

Role of Curriculum

Positives – 

• Pedagogy – Cognitive development 
• Civics – Leadership, Justice, Fraternity, Diversity, Humanity, etc 
• History – Patriotism, Sacrifice, Temperance, etc 
• Science – Critical thinking, Rationality, Innovation, etc 
• Economics – Entrepreneurship, Free and fair trade, Trust, Efficiency 

Negatives – 

• Prejudice
  • Mummy ki roti gol gol, Papa ka Paisa gol gol , Dada ka chashma gol gol, Dadi ke laddu gol gol 
• Instead –
  • Papa ki roti gol gol, Mummy ka paisa gol gol, Dadi ka chashma gol gol, Dada ke laddu gol gol 
• Male – Engineer, Female – Doctor
• Farmer always poor (Ramu ek gareeb kisaan tha)
• Anti-sentiments
  • Hitler used curriculum for anti-semitic (Anti-Jews) propaganda 
  • Pakistan use for anti-India sentiments 
• Solution – Textbooks should only impart Constitutional values

Role of Extracurricular activities

Positives – 

• Sports – Team Building, Leadership, Team-spirit, Cooperative behavior
  • Eg. – After a world cup 2022 match in Qatar,  Japanese fans cleaned stadium   
• College-festival – Responsibility assumption, Management
• Debates – Rational thinking, Persuasion, Negotiation  
• Morning Prayers – Spiritual and moral development, Discipline
• Cambridge analytics – Misuse of data (Political manipulation) 
• Validation-Seeking Behavior (Likes, Dislikes)  – Inferiority complex, 
• Cyberbullying
• Misinformation and Disinformation
• Invasion on Privacy

Civil society

Positives – 

• The MKSS movement which led to RTI Act, 2005 in India inculcated the value of openness and transparency in public life.
• Environmental ethics – Chipko movement

Negatives – 

• Khap Panchayat – Informal justice
• Mob justice – Murder of Pehlu khan (2017 Alwar mob lynching)
• Naxalism movement – Violence

Urbanization – More tolerance, if you’re living in a building with people from variety of caste, religion and regional background, you develop tolerance

Role of Educational institutes in inculcating values

• A child spends almost 1/3rd of the day in school. Hence educational institute plays a very important role in value development
• “Intelligence plus character that is the true goal of education.”– Martin Luther King 
•  True education is harmonic development of heart, Hand and head – Gandhi ji

Role of Teachers

Positives – 

• Discipline, Rational thinking
• Shaping ideology –
  • Gokhale shaped the political  ideology of Gandhiji
  • Aristotle taught morality to Alexander. Alexander never forced his culture/religion on people he defeated 
  • Chankya made Chandragupta a great ruler

Negatives –

• Corporal punishment – Aggressive behavior
• Pure commercialization of education – Materialism
• 2023 Delhi HC order – Private schools can  maintain a surplus for expansion and development without it being considered as commercialization

Role of Curriculum

Positives – 

• Pedagogy – Cognitive development 
• Civics – Leadership, Justice, Fraternity, Diversity, Humanity, etc 
• History – Patriotism, Sacrifice, Temperance, etc 
• Science – Critical thinking, Rationality, Innovation, etc 
• Economics – Entrepreneurship, Free and fair trade, Trust, Efficiency 

Negatives – 

• Prejudice
  • Mummy ki roti gol gol, Papa ka Paisa gol gol , Dada ka chashma gol gol, Dadi ke laddu gol gol 
• Instead –
  • Papa ki roti gol gol, Mummy ka paisa gol gol, Dadi ka chashma gol gol, Dada ke laddu gol gol 
• Male – Engineer, Female – Doctor
• Farmer always poor (Ramu ek gareeb kisaan tha)
• Anti-sentiments
  • Hitler used curriculum for anti-semitic (Anti-Jews) propaganda 
  • Pakistan use for anti-India sentiments 
• Solution – Textbooks should only impart Constitutional values

Role of Extracurricular activitie

Positives – 

• Sports – Team Building, Leadership, Team-spirit, Cooperative behavior
  • Eg. – After a world cup 2022 match in Qatar,  Japanese fans cleaned stadium   
• College-festival – Responsibility assumption, Management
• Debates – Rational thinking, Persuasion, Negotiation  
• Morning Prayers – Spiritual and moral development, Discipline
• Wall paintings – Honesty is the best policy 
• Mid day meal – Equality, Nutrition 
• School uniform – Discipline, Cleanliness

Negatives –

• Ragging – Violates human rights

Recent reforms or changes

New Educational Policy 2020 – Aims to promote value education through the development of civic values, vocational education, and the comprehensive development of children

Conclusion

• Harmony in values in Family, Educational institutes and society is must for holistic moral development of a child and a just society.
• Instead of securing the future of children, Parents must focus on building the character of their children – Geeta

Practice Questions

Question	Marks
Educational institutes are most important for the moral development of men. Evaluate this statement	5M
Differentiate between ethics in private and public relationship with examples. Also explain why complete separation is not possible	10M

Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions / Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions/ Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions / Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions / Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions / Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions / Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions / Private and public ethics – family, society and educational institutions