Virtue Ethics Emanuelle Kant Categorical Impertive Gandhi ji and Amartya Sens Teachings Bhagvat Gita Thirukkural

Rahul Jain Rahul Jain Raj Singh Rahul Pandey RajMohan

The field of Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior. Ethical Theories are sub-categorized under three general subject areas:
Metaethics investigates where our ethical principles come from, and what they mean like Universal truths, the will of God. Normative Ethics takes on a more practical task like moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct.

Applied Ethics involves examining specific controversial issues such as abortion, infanticide, animal rights, environmental concerns, homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear war.

Business ethics (Corporate ethics) is a form of applied ethics that examines ethical principles or problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and business organizations as a whole.

Why business ethics?

Business Ethics is necessary because business can become unethical, and there are plenty of evidences as in today on unethical corporate practices. People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices - Adam Smith

It focuses more on the individual, and their characteristics.

Virtue ethics talks about 'how we should be,' and what virtues we should acquire in order to lead a good life.
Aristotle identified what he thought were the four main virtues:
Justice Courage Temperance Wisdom.

For example, a few are wisdom, courage, justice and temperance. Aristotle saw a virtue as a midpoint between two deficiencies, a midpoint between two vices, (habits)- too little or too much of a certain trait.
Coward Deficient in Courage Courage Rash Excess of Courage

Many of us feel that there are clear obligations we have as human beings, such as to care for our children, and to not commit murder. Duty theories base morality on specific, foundational principles of obligation. For example, it is wrong to not care for our children even if it results in some great benefit, such as financial savings.

Immanuel Kant (22 Apr 1724 12 Feb1804) was an 18thcentury German philosopher from the Prussian city of Knigsberg. The categorical imperative is the central philosophical concept in the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant, it may be defined as a way of evaluating motivations for action. According to Kant, human beings occupy a special place in creation, and morality can be summed up in one ultimate commandment of reason, or imperative, from which all duties and obligations derive.

First Maxim: The first premise is that a person acts morally if his or her conduct would, without condition, be the "right" conduct for any person in similar circumstances. Second Maxim: second premise is that conduct is "right" if it treats others as ends in themselves and not as means to an end. Third Maxim: The conclusion is that a person acts morally when he or she acts as if his or her conduct was establishing a universal law governing others in similar circumstances

I have nothing new to teach the world. Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills This is what M.K. Gandhi said about his principles which revolutionized the world He dreamt that we inculcate those ethics and values and practice in our daily system

Teaching 1: Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment. Teaching 2: What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy? Teaching 3: There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no cause that I am prepared to kill for. Teaching 4: An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind. Teaching 5: We must become the change we want to see in the world.

Amartya Kumar Sen, born 3 November 1933, is an Indian economist

He is known as "the Conscience and the Mother Teresa of Economics for his work on famine, human development theory, welfare economics, poverty, gender inequality

In 1998, Sen won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to work on welfare economics

Utilitarianism (also: utilism) is the idea that the moral worth of an action is determined solely by its utility in providing happiness or pleasure as summed among all sentient beings meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome Sen claims that there is no one principle of justice and that there is no overarching ethical principle, we deal with the situation at hand In his bookThe Idea of Justice, Amartya Sen asks the reader to imagine a scenario that will figure prominently throughout the book.

Example : Three children are arguing among themselves about which one of them should have a flute. The first child, Anne, is a trained musician who can make the best use of the flute. The second child, Bob, is the poorest of the three and owns no other toys or instruments.

Clara, the third contender, happens to be the one who, with hard sustained labor, made the flute.

Utilitarianism : Utilitarians will opt for giving the flute to Anne, since their criteria for distribution is to give preference to the scheme that will maximize overall utility, thus granting the instrument to the individual who can derive the most pleasure out of it Egalitariansm : Bob, the poorest child among the three, will be chosen by egalitarians, since the main concern of their distributive approach is to narrow social and economic gaps as much as possible Libertariansm : And libertarians, who emphasize rightsbased ownership entitlements, will claim that Clara deserves the flute as the producer of the object, and that no other distributive concernsegalitarian or utilitariancan supersede her entitlement to what she naturally owns.

The Bhagavad Gita

Bhavagad Gita Song of God The Bhagavad Gita also more simply known as Gita is The sacred Hindu scripture The Bhagavad Gita comprises roughly 700 verses is a part of the Mahabharata The content of the Gita is the conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna taking place on the battlefield before the start of the Kurukshetra war Responding to Arjuna's confusion and moral dilemma about fighting his own cousins, Lord Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies

The main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad Gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or "truths" Ishvara (The Supreme Controller) Jiva (Living beings/the individualized soul) Prakrti (Nature/Matter) Dharma (Duty in accordance with Divine law) Kaala (Time)

The Gita consists of eighteen chapters in total:

Arjuna requests Krishna to move his chariot between the two armies. When Arjuna sees his relatives on the opposing army side of the Kurus, he loses morale and decides not to fight. After asking Krishna for help, Arjuna is instructed that only the body may be killed as he was worried if it would become a sin to kill people (including his gurus and relatives), while the eternal self is immortal. Krishna appeals to Arjuna that, as a warrior, he has a duty to uphold the path of dharma through warfare. Arjuna asks why he should engage in fighting if knowledge is more important than action. Krishna stresses to Arjuna that performing his duties for the greater good, but without attachment to results, is the appropriate course of action. Krishna reveals that he has lived through many births, always teaching Yoga for the protection of the pious and the destruction of the impious and stresses the importance of accepting a guru.

Arjuna asks Krishna if it is better to forgo action or to act. Krishna answers that both ways may be beneficent, but that acting in Karma Yoga is superior. Krishna describes the correct posture for meditation and the process of how to achieve Samdhi. Krishna teaches the path of knowledge (Jnana Yoga). Krishna defines the terms brahman, adhyatma, karma, atman, adhibhuta and adhidaiva and explains how one can remember him at the time of death and attain his supreme abode. Krishna explains panentheism, "all beings are in me" as a way of remembering him in all circumstances. Krishna describes how he is the ultimate source of all material and spiritual worlds. Arjuna accepts Krishna as the Supreme Being, quoting great sages who have also done so.

On Arjuna's request, Krishna displays his "universal form" (Vivarpa), a theophany of a being facing every way and emitting the radiance of a thousand suns, containing all other beings and material in existence. Krishna describes the process of devotional service (Bhakti Yoga). Krishna describes nature (prakrti), the enjoyer (purusha) and consciousness. Krishna explains the three modes (gunas) of material nature. Krishna describes a symbolic tree (representing material existence), its roots in the heavens and its foliage on earth. Krishna explains that this tree should be felled with the "axe of detachment", after which one can go beyond to his supreme abode.

Krishna tells of the human traits of the divine and the demonic natures. He counsels that to attain the supreme destination one must give up lust, anger and greed, discern between right and wrong action by evidence from scripture and thus act rightly. Krishna tells of three divisions of faith and the thoughts, deeds and even eating habits corresponding to the three gunas.

Thiruvalluvar () is a Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukkural, a work on ethics in Tamil literature He is also known by other names like Theiva Pulavar, Valluvar and Poyyamozhi Pulavar
Thiruvalluvar showed people that a person could lead the life of a Grihastha, and at the same time, lead a divine life or a life of purity and sanctity.

Thirukkural () also known as the Kural is a classic of 1330 rhyming Tamil couplets
It was authored by Thiruvalluvar, and is considered to be the first work to focus on ethics, in Dravidian Literature Kural is considered as 'World common faith, as it shows the way for human morals and betterment in life

Thirukkural is divided into three sections.

Section one deals with Aram, good ethical behavior with conscience and honor ("right conduct"). The First section has 38 chapters
Section two discusses Porul, the right manner of conducting worldly affairs. The Second section has 70 chapters Section three dwells on Inbam, love between man and woman. The Third 25 chapters Each Chapters consists of 10 couplets or kurals thus making 1330 couplets in total.

The Thirukkural is divided into three sections.

Araththuppaal On law/virtue [Dharma]

Porutpaal On wealth/politics [Artha] Kamaththuppaal On desire/love [Kama]

There is a 133 feet tall statue of Saint Thiruvalluvar erected at the southern tip of Indian subcontinent (Kanyakumari) where the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean converge
The 133 ft denotes Thirukkural's 133 Chapters or athikarams and the show of three fingers denote the three themes Aram, Porul, and Inbam ie the Sections on Morals, Wealth and Love.

The 133 feet THIRUVALLUVAR statue at kanyakumari

(V. Ganapati Sthapati )