UNIT II: Moral Values

Moral Values-Definition and Concept of Moral Values – Need and Importance – Universal Moral Values-
Integrity, Work Ethic, Self Confidence, Moral Autonomy, Consensus and Controversy, Professional and
Professionalism, Professional Virtues.

MORAL VALUES:
Moral values are the standards of good and evil, which govern an individual’s behavior and choices. They help us decide
what is right and wrong, and they motivate us to do the right thing.
There are many different types of moral values, but some of the most important ones include honesty, respect,
responsibility, compassion, and forgiveness.
IMPORTANCE OF MORAL VALUES:
Moral values are important because they:
1. help us to make the right choices in life.
2. teach us how to treat other people with respect.
3. guide us how to behave in a way that is acceptable in society.
4. help us to develop a strong sense of right and wrong.
5. help us to develop empathy for others and to understand the consequences of our actions.
Are Moral Values Learned or Innate?
Most people believe that moral values are learned. This means that they are not something that we are born with, but
something that we acquire through our experiences and interactions with others. From childhood, we learn how to share,
how to be truthful, and how to care for others.
As we grow older, we continue to learn new moral values from our families, our friends, and our wider community. We
also learn about moral values through the media, such as television, books, and films.
Some people, however, believe that moral values are innate. This means that they are something that we are born with and
that we do not need to learn them. Instead, our moral values are determined by our genes or our biology.
While there is no definitive answer to the question of whether moral values are learned or innate, most experts believe
that they are primarily learned. This means that our experiences and interactions with others play a significant role in
shaping our moral values.
UNIVERSAL MORAL VALUES:
The proposed universal moral code – are the following:
1. helping family,
2. helping your group,
3. reciprocating,
4. being brave,
5. deferring to superiors (respect),
6. dividing disputed resources (fairness), and
7. respecting prior possession (property rights).
INTEGRITY:
Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and
ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or earnestness of one's
actions. Integrity can stand in opposition to hypocrisy.
These eleven examples of integrity in the workplace and contribute toward a positive working environment for everyone:
1. Be there for other team members
2. Try to improve your work ethic and productivity
3. Help create a positive work environment
 4. Be able to be trusted and trust others with confidential information
5. Strive for respectful, open communication
6. Be accountable for your mistakes
7. Always display trustworthiness and dependability
8. Align with company values at all times
9. Set a good example (be a role model for everyone)
10. Be willing to work hard and bring your true self every day
11. Share opinions but keep them respectful

WORK ETHIC:
A work ethic is a personal set of values that determines how any employee approaches their work. Employees with strong
work ethics are highly motivated and produce consistently high-quality results. A good work ethic can be taught as long
as more productive behaviours are clearly demonstrated to your employees.
SELF CONFIDENCE:
Self-confidence is an attitude about your skills and abilities. It means you accept and trust yourself and have a sense of
control in your life.
How To Increase Your Self-Confidence
1. Recognize and emphasize your strengths. Reward and praise yourself for your efforts and progress.
2. When you stumble on an obstacle, treat yourself with kindness and compassion. Don't dwell on failure.
3. Set realistic and achievable goals. Do not expect perfection; it is impossible to be perfect in every aspect of life.
4. Slow down when you are feeling intense emotions and think logically about the situation.
5. Challenge making assumptions about yourself, people and situations.
6. Recognize that past negative life experiences do not dictate your future.
7. Express your feelings, beliefs and needs directly and respectfully
8. Learn to say no to unreasonable requests.
MORAL AUTONOMY:

 Autonomy means 'self-determining‘ or 'independent‘.

 Moral autonomy is the ability to think critically and independently about moral issues and apply this normal
thinking to situations that arise during the professional engineering practice.
 In other words, moral autonomy means the skill and habit of thinking rationally on ethical issues based on moral
concern.
 That is, it is concerned with the independent attitude of an individual related to ethical issues.
 It is the ability to arrive at reasoned moral views based on the responsiveness to human values.
Steps in confronting moral dilemmas
In order to face/overcome the above said moral dilemmas, one can follow one or more of the following steps.
Step 1: Identifying the pertinent moral factors and reasons. It involves addressing solutions for conflicting
responsibilities, opposing rights, and incompatible ideals involved.
Step 2: Collecting all the available moral considerations, which are relevant to the moral factors involved.
Step 3: Ranking the above collected moral considerations on the basis of importance as applicable to the particular
situation.
Step 4: Making factual inquires. In other words, finding alternative courses of actions to resolve the moral dilemmas and
following the complete implications of each.
Step 5: Inviting discussions, suggestions from colleagues, friends, and other involved persons to critically examine the
moral dilemmas.
Step 6: Taking the final decision. That is selecting the more reasonable solution by weighing all the relevant moral factors
and reasons.

CONSENSUS & CONTROVERSY:

Literally, consensus means - agreement, and controversy means - disagreement.
When an individual exercise moral autonomy, he may not be able to attain the same results as other people obtain in
practicing their moral autonomy. Here there might be some differences in the practical application of moral autonomy.
This kind of controversies i.e., disagreements are inevitable.
Consensus and controversy are two important concepts that often emerge in various fields of knowledge, such as science,
philosophy, politics, and more. They represent the interplay between widely accepted ideas and viewpoints, as well as
those that are subject to disagreement and debate. Let's explore each of these concepts in more detail:
Consensus: Consensus refers to a general agreement or widespread acceptance among a group of people, experts, or
scholars regarding a particular idea, theory, principle, or course of action. It signifies a point at which a significant
majority of individuals in a given community or field share a common understanding or viewpoint. Consensus can be
reached through rigorous research, empirical evidence, logical reasoning, and constructive discourse. It is often seen as a
marker of reliability and stability in knowledge and decision-making. However, it's important to note that consensus can
evolve over time as new information and perspectives emerge.
Controversy: Controversy, on the other hand, arises when there is a lack of agreement or widespread disagreement about
a particular topic, concept, theory, or issue. Controversial subjects tend to provoke strong and conflicting opinions among
individuals or groups, leading to debates, discussions, and even conflicts. Controversies can stem from differing
interpretations of data, varying cultural or ideological viewpoints, limited evidence, or complex and nuanced issues that
defy easy resolution.
Relationship between Consensus and Controversy: Consensus and controversy are interconnected in several ways:
Dynamic Nature: The presence of controversy often motivates further investigation and discussion, which can lead to the
refinement of ideas and ultimately contribute to the establishment of a consensus. In this way, controversy can be a
driving force behind the evolution of knowledge.
Scientific Progress: In the realm of science, controversies can arise when new evidence challenges existing theories.
These controversies drive scientific inquiry and can lead to paradigm shifts, where new understandings replace old ones.
Ethical and Moral Issues: Matters of ethics and morality often involve controversial topics, as they are influenced by
cultural, religious, and personal beliefs. Consensus on these issues can be difficult to achieve due to the diversity of
viewpoints.
Policy and Decision-Making: Controversial issues often play a role in shaping public policies and decisions. Decision-
makers must navigate differing perspectives to find balanced solutions that consider multiple viewpoints.
Social Progress: Many societal advancements and changes have come about through addressing controversial topics,
such as civil rights, gender equality, and environmental protection.
Discourse and Dialogue: Healthy debates surrounding controversial topics can lead to improved understanding and
respect among individuals with differing opinions, even if a complete consensus isn't reached.
In conclusion, consensus and controversy are integral aspects of human knowledge and progress. While consensus
reflects widespread agreement and stability, controversy drives critical thinking, encourages exploration of new ideas, and
contributes to the evolution of knowledge and society as a whole.
PROFESSIONAL & PROFESSIONALISM:
Profession
Profession means a job or an occupation, that helps a person earn his living. The main criteria of a profession involves the
following.
Advanced expertise − The criteria of a profession is to have sound knowledge in both technical aspects and liberal arts as
well. In general, continuing education and updating knowledge are also important.
Self-regulation − An organization that provides a profession, plays a major role in setting standards for the admission to
the profession, drafting codes of ethics, enforcing the standards of conduct and representing the profession before the
public and the government.
Public good − Any occupation serves some public good by maintaining high ethical standards throughout a profession.
This is a part of professional ethics where each occupation is intended to serve for the welfare of the public, directly or
indirectly to a certain extent.
Professionals
A person who is paid for getting onvolved in a particular profession in order to earn a living as well as to satisfy the laws
of that profession can be understood as a Professional.
Professionalism
Professionalism covers comprehensively all areas of practice of a particular profession. It requires skills and
responsibilities involved in engineering profession. Professionalism implies a certain set of attitudes.
Professional Ideals and Virtues
The virtues represent excellence in core moral behavior. The essentials for any professional to excel in the profession are
behavior, skills and knowledge. The behavior shows the moral ideology of the professional.
The moral ideals specify the virtue, i.e., the desirable character traits that talk a lot about the motives, attitude and
emotions of an individual.

 Public spirited virtues

 Proficiency virtues
 Team work virtues
 Self-governance virtues
The virtues mentioned above show the professional responsibility of an individual. Hence, the professionalism that comes
in with these virtues is called Responsible Professionalism.

PROFESSIONAL VIRTUES:
Professional virtues can thus be understood as those stable traits that allows a professional to excel in fulfilling the
distinctive function of that profession.