Are you ethical? Or rather, how ethical are you?
Is a digital 1/0 response even valid for this, or does one need to bring on the fuzzy logic and scale himself/herself on say, a scale of 0-10?
I am personally a strong proponent of either-here-or-there proposition (or, as a learned soul once said - If you are not a part of the solution, then you are part of the problem). Having said that, I have also realized I thrive in grey areas, reveling in the sheer delight of pushing limits and justifying the same. So, does that mean I am 2/10 unethical, if I rate myself 8/10 ethical? To be frank, I am comfortable as long as I can justify my actions to my conscience.
To generalize, the extent to which someones indulges in ethical/unethical practices depends on his or her personal disposition - their comfort levels with the line they draw around themselves in terms of defining what is ethically acceptable to them. Of course, for many, no circle exists, while a few others draw such a tight circle which leaves them standing literally on a dot.
Many argue that the same is a subjective call. One is vindicated as long as the circle is reasonably sized. How reasonable is reasonable, though? Globe can be put, and is usually put, to answer the question. In fact, one of the guys back in college was usually ridiculed for being what can be described as ultra-ethical - one who follows the ideal code of conduct to the book.
Well, lets not talk about extremes. Lets compare two guys with cricles of different sizes. It can be argued that the one confining himself to the smaller circle will be less well-off than the other, on the premise that people indulge in unethical behavior for purely selfish motives. Consequently, the gap between their "satisfaction" levels is largely proportional to the difference in radii of the respective circles they drew for themselves. Now, since these very boundaries are in congruence with their comfort levels, what explains this gap in a logical fashion? To me, the validity of "subjective call" argument is in question. Paradox, if one looks at it in a pure goal-effort-output frame.
Why does the person with the smaller circle need to lose out? Indeed, there have been moments when I have wished if I could be a bit more selfish having interacted with someone with wider circles; and I am sure I have done things which would have left a few others feeling the same.
Well, for the time being, I comfort myself by just reminding myself that maybe I am happier in my own boundaries. I also know that the same comfort level with which I pacify myself would go down with more time spent in the real world.
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