Foundations of Ethics: East to West

Ronnie Goodin

“For it is his dealings with those whom he can easily wrong which reveal a man’s genuine unfeigned reverence for right & wrong.” Plato, The Laws, p. 27 of Book 6 (p. 160)

WHAT IS ETHICS p. 8

C.S. Lewis compared ethics to a fleet of

ships & the orders tell the ships 3 things:

• How to cooperate with one another = Social ethics.

• How to keep each ship afloat = Individual ethics.

• What is the ship’s mission = Purpose of life!

 

“Managers draw on all the knowledges & insights of the humanities & the social sciences – on psychology, & philosophy, on economics & history, on ethics – as well as the physical sciences.” Peter Drucker, The Essential Drucker, p. 13

RELIGION (& ETHICS) 101

• Confucius

• Buddhists

• Daoism/Taoism

CONTRASTING

• Western Religions

Counterpoint: Has ancient law always been seen as righteous?Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law. Psalm 94-20

Dr. Peter Zhao XiaoFormer head of EconomicResearch Institute

Max WeberC. Hall, International

Business, p. 86-88

3 POISIONS (BUDDISM)The Dalai Lama & Daniel Goleman, Destructive Emotions, xix

• Hatred

• Craving

• Delusion

DARK SIDE OF CAPITOLISM: “The more we pursue material improvement, ignoring the contentmentthat comes of inner growth, the faster ethical values disappear from our communities.” The Dalai Lama & Daniel Goleman, Destructive Emotions, xiv

Counterpoint: “Greed is good”Character Gordon Gecko

Movie: Wall StreetDotlich, Cairo & Rhinesmith, Head, Heart & Guts, p. 93

STATES OF MINDThe Dalai Lama & Daniel Goleman, Destructive Emotions, P. 67-68

Destructive States of Mind

• Low self-esteem• Over confidence• Harboring negative

emotions• Jealousy & envy• Lack of compassion• Inability to have close

personal relations

Constructive States of Mind

• Self-respect• Self-esteem (if deserved)

• Feelings of integrity• Compassion• Benevolence• Generosity• Seeing the true, the

good, the right• Love• Friendship

JUDEO-CHRISTIANITY - DAOISM

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--

• A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

• A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

• A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.

• A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

• A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

• A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.

• A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3 by Solomon

Appx 900 BC 

JUDEO-CHRISTIANITY - DAOISM

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.

A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3 by Solomon Appx 900 BC 

There is a time for being ahead,a time for being behind;a time for being in motion,a time for being at rest;a time for being vigorous,a time for being exhausted;a time for being safe,a time for being in danger.

Tao Te Ching by Lao-tzu (551-479 BC) interpreted by Stephen Mitchell

 

CHRISTIANITY – BUDDHISMLAW COMPARISON

10 COMMANDMENTS

(last 5)

• Thou shalt not kill.• Thou shalt not commit

adultery.• Thou shalt not steal.• Thou shalt not bear false

witness.• Thou shalt not covet.

Exodus 20: 13-17

5 BUDDHIST STRUGGLES AGAINST SIN

• Abstain from killing.• Abstain from illicit sex.

• Abstain from stealing.• Abstain from lying.*• Abstain from intoxication.

China, John K. Fairbank & Merle Goldman, p. 79

In the East, “laws were subordinate to morality.” China, John K. Fairbank & Merle Goldman, p. 183

*“Do not lie to anyone at all. There are exceptions, when lying can result in great benefit to others, but they are rare.” Dalai Lama, How to Practice The Way to a Meaningful Life P. 106 & 112

GOLDEN RULE(S)

• Christianity - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

• Judaism – What is hurtful to yourself do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole of the Torah & the remainder is but commentary.

• Islam - Do unto all men as you would wish to have done unto you; & reject for others what you would reject for yourselves.

GOLDEN RULE(S)• Buddhism – Hurt not others that which pains yourself.

• Confucianism – Tzu-Kung asked, ‘Is there 1 principle upon which one’s whole life may proceed?’ The Master replied, ‘Is not Reciprocity such a principle? – what you do not yourself desire, do not put before others.’

• Hinduism – This is the sum of all true righteousness – Treat others, as thou wouldst thyself be treated. Do nothing to thy neighbor, which hereafter thou wouldst not have thy neighbor do to thee.

RIGHTEOUSNESS = INTEGRITY (ETHICS)

*Faith Based

Intuitive Beliefs

Positive Peer Pressure

Fairness trumps integrity

Critical Failure Alignment

INT

EG

RIT

Y

Dalia Lama, Ethics for the New Millennium

VALUE FOUNDATION 2Fire employees for ethics breech.Packard of HP Collins & Porras, Built to Last, p. 191

Welch of GE, Winning, p. 161

FoolishnessCowardice

Unholiness

Injustice

Ignorance

VIRTUE

Is there one thing all citizens must share, if a state is to exist at all? Protagoras & Socrates dialogue In Plato’s Protagoras, p. 56, 64-65.

Wisdom

Justice

Holiness

CourageTemperance

ARISTOTLE’S GOLDEN MEANNicomachean Ethics, Aristotle [Richard McKeon] / Also, Plato, The Laws, Book 3, p. 31 (p. 85)

VIRTUEEXCESS DEFICIT

Cowardice Courage Recklessness

Too sensitive Temperance Too insensitive

(to pleasure & pain)

Vanity Proper Pride False humility

Supplementary Point: Avoid the extremes. Confucius

Western Religion & Buddhism Jim Collins, Good to Great

Counterpoint: Thomas Aquinas believes 3 virtues - faith, hope & love is not a mean between 2 extremes.

Philosophy & Religious Pre-Summary

• “Euripides, in his last plays, conceded that the mystery of moral evil & of folly could no longer be explained by external cause, by the bite of Ate, as if by a spider, . . Men & women had to confront it as part of their being.” Barbara W. Tuchman, March of Folly, p. 381

– A half millennia later, Jesus’ parable of the harvest teaches the same lesson: good seeds & seeds of weeds grow together in the field because removal of the bad plants damage the roots of the good plants, both grow together till the harvest when the good is only then separated from the bad - one meaning is that good & evil co-exist in a body.

HIRING – INTEGRITYBy the Seat of Your Pants, p. 52, Tom Gegax

• Everyone has bent or broken a rule at one time or another. What was one of your recent transgressions & what did you learn from it?

• Are all rules valid?

• If you felt a rule was unfair, what would you do about it?

• Have you ever broken a rule to satisfy a customer? If so, how?

• Which is more important, customer service or making a profit? Why?

Supporting Point - “Ask yourself: How often are brute integrity & explicit communication worth the price of the listener’s goodwill, open-mindedness,& receptivity to change?” Pascale & Athos, The Art of Japanese Management, p. 102

CRACK THE DOOR ENCOURAGING UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR

REWARDSDaniel Pink, Drive

• “Often rewards inflict collateral damage.” P. 27 “They can give us more of what we don’t want” P. 49

 

• “If someone’s baseline rewards aren’t adequate or equitable, her focus will be on the unfairness of her situation & the anxiety of her circumstance.” P. 35

• Carrots & sticks can encourage cheating, shortcuts, & unethical behavior. P. 66

• “When the reward is the activity itself – deepening learning, delighting customers, doing one’s best – there are no shortcuts. The only route to the destination is the high road. In some sense, it’s impossible to act unethically because the person who’s disadvantaged isn’t a competitor but yourself.” P. 51

Law firms billing P. 99

DECISION PROCESSThe Essential Drucker, Peter Drucker, 242-243

• “Clear realization that the problem is generic & could only be solved through a decision that established a rule, a principle.

• The definition of the specifications that the answer to the problem had to satisfy, that is, of ‘boundary conditions’.

• The thinking through what is right, that is the solution that fully satisfies the specifications before attention is given to compromises. . . needed to make the decision acceptable.

• Building into the decision the action to carry it out.

• The ‘feedback’ that tests the validity & effectiveness of the decision against the actual course of events.”

Alfred Sloan

When Motorola founder, Paul Galvin, faced current industry practice of misrepresenting company financial health, he responded, “Tell them the truth, 1st because it’s the right thing to do. . .” Collins & Porras, Built to Last, p. 82

ETHICS → VISION• “. . . if the edges of the vision are blurred, you

don’t know what is ‘risk in pursuit of the vision’ as opposed to ‘risk for risk’s sake’.” Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters, p.

522

• “Yes leadership is about vision . But leadership is equally about creating a climate where the truth is heard & brutal facts confronted. There is a huge difference between the opportunity to ‘have your say’ & the opportunity to be heard.” Good

to Great, Jim Collins p. 74

“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root, . .” Henry David Thoreau

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSCharles Hill, International Business, 3rd Ed. p. 68-70

• Totalitarian countries

• Regulations variation between parent company its foreign located organization– Environment– Sweatshops

• Corruption– Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (1977)

• Bribes– Get a foot-in-the-door– Speed up approval process

“. . . corruption tends to corrupt both the bribe giver & the bribe taker.” p. 70

GRAPPLING WITH ‘RIGHT’David Dotlich, Peter Cairo & Stephen Rhinesmith, Head, Heart & Guts, p. 203

• Why are you taking a stand on this particular issue?– Has an ideal you hold dear been violated?

– Does it seem as if you can’t live with yourself if you don’t take this stand?

• Have you examined your motivation for making a decision or taking this action?– Is this really a matter of integrity, or is there an element of self-

interest involved?

• Are you asked to do things by your boss or follow policies in line with organizational values that you find personally repugnant?– Have you attempted to articulate your feelings about this subject to

senior leaders?

– Have you looked for alternatives that might make your job more acceptable from a personal values perspective?

1 OF 2

GRAPPLING WITH ‘RIGHT’David Dotlich, Peter Cairo & Stephen Rhinesmith, Head, Heart & Guts, p. 203

• Do you feel your belief in the right or wrong way to do things at work has evolved over time?– Have certain experiences allowed you to adapt & adjust your attitude, or

are you so dug in that nothing will move you to consider another definition of what’s right?

• Do you distinguish between organizational-legal ethics & personal integrity?– Are there situations in which you act in ways that conform to ethical

behavior, as the board might interpret it, but still feel that you’re doing something that goes against your principles?

• What are the risks if you take a stand on this issue?– How do you want people to interpret this action?

– What is it you are trying to ‘say’?

1 OF 2

“Counterpoint: “And he who defines his conduct by ethics imprisons his song-bird in a cage.” Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, p. 77

LEADERSHIP DIAGNOSTICS Henry Cloud, Necessary Endings, p. 119, Ch. 7

THREE TYPES OF PEOPLE

WISEFOOLISH

EVILOf course, each type must be dealt with differently.

“The transparent leader fights evil.” Herb Baum, The Transparent Leader, p. 160

A time to love,A time to hate,

Ecclesiastes 3:8

A wise man is cautious & turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant & careless. Solomon Proverbs 14:16

“Better give your path to a dog, than be bittenBy him in contesting the right. EvenKilling the dog would not cure the bite.”Lincoln, Donald Phillips, Lincoln on Leadership, p. 82

Referring to unhealthy conflict: “If you hear no evil, see no evil, & speak no evil, evil will not cease to exist.”John C. Maxwell, Winning with People, p. 111

PHILOSOPHICAL & RELIGIOUS VIEW OF EVIL

• PLATO– “But one person who has within himself a pair of unwise &

conflicting counselors, whose names are pleasure & pain?” Book 1, p.21

– “. . .but one thing is certain: these interior states are, so to say, the cords, or strings, by which we are worked; they are opposed to one another, & pull us with opposite tensions in the direction of opposite actions, & therein lies the division of virtue from vice.” Plato,

The Laws, Book 1, p.22

• Jesus– Parable of the sower

• Kahlil Gibran (in 1923 in this book, The Prophet)– “You cannot separate the just from the unjust & the good from the

wicked; For they stand together before the face of the sun even as the black thread & the white are woven together.” P. 41

– “These things move within you as light & shadows in pairs that cling.” P. 49

©

PRE-CONCLUSION Dalai Lama Ethics for the New Millennium

Ethical Discipline

EXERCISE RESTRAINTp.87

• Anger• Hatred• Greed• Pride• Selfishness

CULTIVATE VIRTUE p. 146

• Love• Compassion• Patience• Tolerance• Forgiveness

“The undisciplined mind is like an elephant. If left to blunder around out of control, it wreaks havoc.” p. 82

ETHICS & THE LAW (CONCLUSION)

• Dark side of law according Paul Romans 7: 7-12

What then should we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived & I died, & the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, deceived me & through it killed me.

Taoism“ . . . if you need rules to be kind & just . . . this is a sure sign virtue

is absent. . .” Lao-tzu Tao Te Ching, 18th verse

What is ethics? “Ethics is others” According to John Dalla Costa, author of The Ethical Imperative Leadership from the Inside Out, 2nd Ed., Kevin Cashman, p. 85

ANIMAL KINGDOM MODEL?1 of 6 Abdullah Yusuf Ali translator Qur’an footnote 427

“I found . . . that applying steady pressure from the rear worked best. Eventually, one would decide to pass through the gate; & the rest would follow. Press too hard & they’d panic, scattering in all directions. Slack off entirely & they’d just head back to their old grazing spots. That insight was useful throughout my management career.”David Packard, HP Way, p. 69-70

Ex: Depth of Fear(or Usefulness of Fear)

Turkeys

Cattle - Cats

Squirrels

Chickens“. . . there is an innate rightness to the recurring forms of nature.” David Bayles & Ted Orland, Art & Fear, p. 103

Prepare for inevitablePreempting the undesirableControlling the controllableHenry Mintzberg, The Rise & Fall of Strategic Planning, p. 17-18

REMEMBER

Kenneth LayEnron

Martha Stewart

Ted KaczynskiUnabomber

Harvard graduate

NY Times Reporter Jayson Blair

George Harrison Angelina Jolie

• Humility • Passion • Unity • Servant-hood • Thankfulness

Tony Dungy

Tim Tebow

Brad Stevens Butler Univ.

Lombardi

“I tried so hard to do the right thing.”

President Grover Cleveland President Chester Arthur

Steve Young

Reggie White

At the end, one thing you should not say is.

‘I should have.’

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” Paul

S1

CONCLUSION

CONCLUSION

ETHICS’ REFERENCES• Ethics for the New Millennium, Dalai Lama

• Destructive Emotions, p. 67-68, The Dalai Lama & Daniel Goleman

• The Modern Scholar – Ethics, Peter Kreeft

• The Republic, Plato

• Protagoras, p. 56, 64-65, Plato

• Tao Te Ching, Lao-tzu

• By the Seat of Your Pants, p. 107-118, Tom Gegax

• Head, Heart & Guts, D. Dotlich, P. Cairo & S. Rhinesmith, p. 203

• Ecclesiastes, Ch. 3, Solomon

• Thriving on Chaos, Tom Peters, p. 519, 522

• Built to Last, Jim Collins & Jerry Porras, p. 82

• Good to Great, Jim Collins, p. 74

• The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard, p.83, 326

• Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle [W. D. Ross]

• The Transparent Leader, Herb Baum

1st presented as a tutorial at the International System Safety Society