UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practice GS 4 Ethics -Test 19

1. (a) “Laws restrict people, while it is values that bring out their goodness”. Evaluate. (10 Marks)

ANSWER: Laws and values are found in all spheres of society. They govern the actions of individuals on a daily basis. They often work hand-in-hand to ensure that citizens act in a certain manner, and coordinate efforts to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public.
Law creates a basic, enforceable standard of behaviour necessary in order for a community to succeed and in which all people are treated equally. On the other hand, our values give us a sense of what’s good, right, and meaningful in our lives. They serve as a reference point for all the possible courses of action we could choose. In this regard, the law is narrower in focus than values. Example: Driving carefully and within the speed limit because you see a police car behind you suggests your fear of breaking the law and being punished for it. Driving carefully because you don’t want to hurt someone is making a decision based on values.
Laws alone cannot ensure order. While laws ensure that citizens are obedient, values regulate the internal behaviour of individuals. Thus, it is important for society to be based on certain values as well. Societies, where greater emphasis is given to values, have a greater level of goodness. Example: Scandinavian countries

1. (b) Moral values of an individual are a result of various influences. Discuss the role of social media and mass media in building moral values. (10 Marks)

ANSWER: Moral values are shaped by social norms, cultural practices, and religious influences. In contemporary times, social media and mass media has a great role to play in building moral values. The technological advances have made the media the most influential force, especially amongst the youth today.

The media influences the development and transformation of values and beliefs of people in a variety of ways like social development, tolerance, positive attitude towards other’s culture. Children are easily influenced by the functional “parallel school” of the media.

Media’s role in building values

Media reinforces the existing beliefs and stereotypes rather than changing attitudes. It affects our beliefs about reality when an individual does not have first-hand experiences to rely upon.
Media brings about conversion in the perspective and opinions of the people. It influences lifestyle and culture.
Helps in social awareness. For instance, the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan movement has been popularized to develop a sense of responsibility towards cleanliness.
Children assimilate social behaviours by perceiving others. Therefore, exposure to TV characters who succeed by conducting behaviour in violent, aggressive, or stereotypical ways may motivate children to use alike approaches in their own lives.

Media influences us in one way by shaping our subjective understanding of reality and conceptualising about the world. Thus, the media is responsible and accountable in the said ways of building a value-laden society

2.”If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion” (10 Marks)

ANSWER: The road to happiness is the development of inner peace and compassion, through reflection and the training of one’s own mind. It doesn’t just lie within ourselves, but in your connections and interactions with others. Thus, the key to happiness can be found in compassion.

‘Compassion’ is the feeling of concern that arises when we encounter pain and suffering, our own as well as others’. It involves the motivation to relieve this suffering and is natural in everyone. It requires action as well. According to the Dalai Lama, the secret to lasting happiness doesn’t lie in any goods, relationships or achievements, but rather in what we can give: not just material gifts, but gifts of time, love, random acts of kindness etc.Example: Volunteering is beneficial for oneself and others.
Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves. It is a lack of love for ourselves that inhibits our compassion toward others. If we make friends with ourselves, then there is no obstacle to opening our hearts and minds to others.

3. Among the following attributes such as experience, knowledge and attitude which is the most useful tool in building moral values? Substantiate your answer with examples. (10 Marks)

ANSWER: Moral values are the yardsticks which help in measuring the desirability or undesirability of any act, behaviour or practice. It is based on personal conscience rather than what the law or societal regulations dictate. Different attributes play an essential role in building moral values.
Moral values are inherently a person‘s choice as to which morals does he/she values and which he does not. They also guide us about a variety of social norms and rules, thus facilitating the co-existence of people from diverse backgrounds. For example Tolerance is an important value in a multicultural society.

With the evolution of society, there is an understanding of what is right and wrong. Depending upon how an individual decides to conduct his day to day life, his moral standards are determined. They are not solely determined by one standard but are based on a combination of different standards or attributes. A set of ethical standards based on different philosophies shows the dynamic nature of human character and conduct. Experience builds knowledge and knowledge moulds one’s attitude. They change according to cultures and all these attributes are necessary to deal with the plurality of truths. For example A doctor may have to suggest genetic testing to a catholic couple expecting a child. In this situation, she might have to use her experience and knowledge to convince the couple and suggest a change in their perceived beliefs for the safety of their child.
Moral values are not universal and hence requires several attributes to come together to exhibit an ethical act.

4. You are a senior medical professional working in an independent health organisation tasked to study the spread of a new Pneumonia like disease in a nearby city. You, along with the members of the government, have reached the epicentre which is a densely populated slum region of the city. Once you completed your initial analysis you have come to know that the newly identified disease is an outcome of a new virus. You have also identified that the death rate of the disease is quite high and there is a strong reason to believe that the virus may spread through human to human transmission. After your research, you submitted the report before the government members and soon after the government officials began to persuade you not to publish the data or talk to the media. Ministers and senior officials also contacted you to not disclose the report and told that if it is available to the public and media it may affect the image of the state and the country.

(a) What will be your course of action in this case? Justify. (10 Marks)

(b) Why are transparency and openness a critical quality for public service? (10 Marks)

ANSWER:

a. Issue involved: The case poses a dilemma between ensuring public health and protecting the public image of the country.
Stakeholders involved: Government, general public, media, myself

Ethical dilemmas:

● Transparency and vs. Protecting public image of the country
● Professional responsibilities vs. Loss of job

Options

Merit

Demerit

1. I will not

publish the data or talk to the media

It will be protecting the image of my country

● It will jeopardise the health of thousands of citizens

2. I will leak the news to the media

People will get to know about the disease

● Can create panic amongstcitizens, worsening the situation

● Misinformation can spread causing further harm

3. I will inform the central ministry of public health and call a joint meeting of all stakeholders involved

Public awareness will be created

● Can generate criticism from some members of the government or lose my job.

The final course of action

I shall choose the third option because I have a moral responsibility to the citizens and to myself. My immediate course of action would be to inform the central public health ministry about the situation and call a joint meeting with the central and state health ministers, civil society representatives and senior health professionals, police officials and district magistrate.

During the meeting I will explain the entire situation and propose a two-pronged strategy to minimise risk:

Administrative level-

Isolate the affected region as a containment zone and restrict the movement of the public.
Immediately inform all primary health centres about the situation
Assign police to contain the public movement
Close all educational institutions
Create a public information portal informing about the disease and advice all persons in contact with anyone from the region to isolate themselves
Put a team in place to track the movement of persons affected and disclose information while protecting patient confidentiality.
Collect new data regarding relevant risks so that new standards can be assessed and implemented.

2. Health department-

Immediately call for a high-level meeting of senior health professionals and develop strategies to contain the disease
Request for arranging safety kits, test kits and protective equipment gear for medical practitioners
Device plans to address end-of-life issues and goals of care
Allocation of scarce resources such as ICU beds, ventilators, and medication

As we learnt from the recent times, public health is of utmost importance, if not addressed soon enough can jeopardise not only the lives of individuals but the stability of nations as well, as the saying goes, a stitch in time saves nine.

b. Transparency is the openness in decision making and the availability of information in the public domain. The ethical, transparent and accountable public sector is a precondition of good governance that ensures sustainable development and responsive public policy. Decision-making by administrators must be based on fairness, transparency and accountability and a sense of the public interest.
Transparency is a critical quality for public service and good governance.
Government officers need to promote transparency towards
(a) citizenry;
(b) within their own ranks; and between
(c) different administrative branches.

An informed citizenry and transparency of information are vital to the functioning of a democracy. It also helps in

● building the public’s trust in the system.
● taking rational and objective decisions and forsaking bias and prejudices
● holding public servants accountable and expose counter-productive rules that slow down the administration
● effective risk management.

Thus, it can be said that transparency is a crucial concept in maintaining ethical governance machinery.