Human values , Good engineer , UPSC ESE , General studies , Ethics

 What are values?

• Values are core beliefs that shape one's worldview and impact the character of individual.
• Values are beliefs about how we ought to trust.
• "Confidence in or reliance on some quantity or attribute of a person"
• Trustfulness : an individual expresses a sense of confidence in others.
• Trust worthiness: an individual acts in a manner so as to engender / build trust.

Honesty implies

• Honesty in action
• Honesty in speech
• Honesty in beliefs 

Forms of dishonesty

• Lying
• Deliberate , deception (you pretend you know)
• With holding information

Courage

• The deposition to voluntarily act , perhaps fearfully in a dangerous circumstance , where the relevant risks are reasonably appraised

Elements of courage 

• Desperate actions are not courageous actions
• Must be voluntary , coerced actions do not qualify 
• Have an understanding of the risk and an acceptance of the consequences of the action.
• Courage requires the presence of danger , risk , loss or potential injury.
• Courage involves mastery of fear rather than fearlessness.

Types of courage

• Physical courage : overcoming the fear of physical injury or death.
• Moral courage : will power to do the right thing , standing up for convictious beliefs 
• Pshycological courage : required to confront a serious illness or destructive habit.

Integrity

• Derived from latin integritas , meaning wholeness , soundness, whole.
• Integrity refers to consistency in our conduct.
• Being true to oneself.

Kindness

• Tendency to be nice
• All human beings are of equal worth
• Giving is more important than receiving

Gratitude

• Sense of thankfulness
• Act of being grateful
• Comes from the perception that one has benefitted due to the action of another person

What does forgiveness mean?

• Psychology  define forgiveness as a conscious , delibrate , decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harm you ,  regardless of whether they actually deserve you forgiveness.
• Avoidance of being vengeful
• "The weak can never forgive , forgiveness is the attribute of the strong" ....... Gandhi Ji

Humility

Key features of humility

• An accurate sense of one's abilities and achievements .
• The ability to acknowledge one's mistakes imperfections and gap in knowledge , and limitations.
• Openness to new ideas , contradictory information , and advice.
• Relatively low focus on the self

Perseverance / persistence

Perseverance , what is it ?

• Finishing what one has started.
• Keeping on despite obstacles.
• Ability to overcome boredom(industriousness)

Meaning:

As voluntary continuation of goal directed action inspite of obstacles , difficulties , discouragement.

Empathy

• The ability to sense other's people emotions.
• Affective empathy : refers to the sensation and feelings we get in response to the others emotions.
• Cognitive empathy : refers to our ability to understand other's people emotions.

Compassion

Human - heartedness

• Basic kindness with deep awareness of the suffering of oneself and other living being , coupled with the wish and effort to alleviate it .
• The feeling that arises in  witnessing other's suffering and that motivates a subsequent desire to help.
• According to Han Gartner compassion is a three part process:

1. "I feel for you" (affective)
2. "I understand you" (cognitive)
3. "I want to help you" (motivational)

Forms of compassion

• Familial compassion : for members of family and friends.
• Global compassion : compassion irrespective of race
• Sentient compassion : compassion for all life forms
• Heroic compassion : feeling that motivates heroic deeds

Why engineers should act ethically in India ?

• Developing economics like India relies a lot on professional like engineer because of the contribution they makes towards the development process.
• It becomes important for engineer to act ethically because their code of conduct has a huge impact on society.

Who is a good engineer?

• Who holds the healthy , safety , and welfare of the public to be paramount importance.
• Believes in delivery the best of the advice and service.
• To be honest and objective in communicating with the public at large with respect to engineering outputs.
• Act as faithful agents for their employer /department
• Avoid deceptive act.
• Conduct themselves honorably , responsibility , ethically and lawfully so as to enhance the honour , reputation and usefulness of the profession.