Integrity
Integrity is a hypothesis of uniformity of morals, principles, measures, methods, values and actions. It is a private choice that one makes not to compromise and become consistent in his/her commitment to ethical, moral, artistic and even spiritual values. Many regard integrity as accuracy and truthfulness of people's actions is ethics. As denoted from the original Latin word for integrity ‘integer’, integrity is that sense of wholeness from the inside from where qualities like consistency and honesty of character are derived. In ethics, one is said to have integrity of his/her actions are based on an internal consistent scaffold of principles. A persons ethical integrity, therefore, can be described to the extent that the persons, methods, beliefs, actions, principles and measures derive from a single core group of values (Maher 12-22). A person, therefore, ought to be willing to be flexible to adjust some of these values so that he/she can be consistent even when the values are challenged. This approach is especially so when the expected test results are not in line with the observed actions. Because this kind of flexibility is based on accountability, it is interpreted as a virtue as well as a moral responsibility. One of the imperative aspects of a good framework is its avoidance of arbitrary or unwarranted exceptions towards a particular individual or group of people – especially that person or group of people who hold the framework. In legal systems, this aspect of integrity requires that even those who are official power positions are subject to the very laws and guidelines that apply to the rest of citizens. In personal terms, this aspect requires that an individual should not act in accordance to the guidelines that he/she would not like to see being followed universally. For instance, one should not sell expired foods unless he/she would like to live in a society where all the food that is available from the market is expired. This principle of universal application has been described by famous philosophers like Immanuel Kant (1784-1804). Integrity implies a concept of wholeness, a complete mass of beliefs, known as the worldview. This concept of wholeness emphasizes authenticity and honesty and requires that an individual acts at all times in accordance to his/her worldview (Maher 12-22).
Self-Integration and Wholeness of Character
The conception of integrity which closely relates to integrity’s Latin etymology is the one that holds that is a formal property of wholeness, completeness and wholeness. According to Harry Frankfurt, one achieves self-integration by harmony and coherence within a rank of first and second order volitions and desires. A fully integrated individual, he argues, identifies with certain volitions and desires and hence dissolves the disagreement that arises in a non-integrated self (wanton). It is possible for one to experience contradiction volitions or desires, but there will always be desires or volitions which he/she identifies. This trend is because identifying contradicting desires and volitions would imply a divided individual which results in inconsistency in both word and action levels. This approach perhaps is appealing of Frankfurt as it explains the consistency that is on both word and action that characterize the person of integrity. All people are motivated by beliefs, values and principles, as well as volitions and desires and it is vital to be in a place to describe the former in terms of the latter. Most people are committed to these principles, beliefs and values. For example, a lot of people are committed to the principle of speaking the truth (not lying). When a person faces circumstances that make him/her to lie, he/she cannot do that without compromising his/her integrity. In another example, we imagine of a professional footballer playing for some of the top football clubs in Europe. This footballer gets a chance to transfer to even a bigger club where he will be paid heftily. However, he knows that if he is to transfer to a bigger club, his contribution to soccer will be small because of the limited game time and competition in the team despite the hefty salary. If he decides to stay in his current team, he has a chance to participate often in competitions ad to even teach other youngsters football skills. His aim in life, for example, is to influence the lives of young people by teaching them football. Inasmuch as transferring to the bigger club guarantees money and fame, he cannot do that without compromising his integrity (Baxter 11-17).
Integrity and Ethical Issues
According to Henry Frankfurt, integration at the character level leads to consistency at the behavior level. However, thinking of integrity in this purely formal terms makes it easy for us to miss the other equally important component of integrity, the moral content. What would we think if the footballer decided to join a bigger club and be happy about the choice? That he is fully committed to being in this bigger club just because he is committed to being famous and to make more money. This looks more like an aspect of wholeness and self-integration, but would the word integrity be used in this case? This sample shows us that defining integrity purely in terms of wholeness and self-integration is missing an important point about the same. The suggestion here is that there is something more than the wholeness in the word integrity and that this element has to be ethical (Baxter 11-17). But again, not every principle, value or belief forms the basis of integrity. It is obvious that sometimes we do not agree with people on their perspectives, but that does not put us in a position we can say that these people do not have integrity. There are situations when some people do some things that we think that are morally perverted and twisted. However, to the best of their understanding and their conviction, they are doing the right and important thing. What would be said, for example, of a terrorist who brings down building, planes, vehicles, cities, etc. in the name of fighting a holy war? Or because to the best of his knowledge, killing people is a ticket straight to heaven? Is he wholly satisfied and self-integrated? The answer would be ‘Yes’. Is he doing the right things? Obviously ‘No’. This example confirms the argument that integrity goes beyond doing the right thing as far as an individual in concerned, but rather doing the right thing as far as the whole society is concerned. Defining integrity solely in terms of wholeness simply devalues humanity. To properly define integrity, we ought to define the standards, principles, values and beliefs that a ‘reasonable’ individual would hold to be true and acceptable.
Integrity and Identity
Bernard William’s work shows us that integrity is closely linked to one’s identity. He argues that personal integrity can be impeded by ethical integrity and ethical theories whose bases are impersonal. As human beings, we are defined by special characters, believe, and values that make us different from our neighbors. These principles and values cannot be defined with reference to other values and principles because the form the core of an individual. They make Joseph and not Michael. Abandoning some of the values that define us and make us unique means that we are losing some part of ourselves so that we can be ethically accepted. This is when even those values that define a ‘reasonable’ person form his/her personality are violated. Therefore, we lose some part of ourselves to preserve the values of a ‘reasonable’ person while the truth is none is superior. William’s argument enables us to define the moral commitments by through which we define ourselves, at least partly, in terms of something different from integrity (Baxter 11-17).
Standing For One Thing and Integrity in the Social Dimension
Most of the accounts that have been examined so far tend to define integrity in terms of wholeness and self-integration. It is the means through which we get to fulfill our personal commitments that partly defines who we are. These accounts seem to paint an inward looking picture that contradict what we always think about integrity. They paint a picture that people who resist the social pressures and pursue what is in them irrespective of what people would say have integrity. Arguments by famous commentators like Cheshire Calhoun insist that we ought to think of integrity as more of a social virtue. We can only account for this in the wider social context. Integrity in this sense is standing for something in the community and determining what is most beneficial to the whole community even if it is damaging to an individual. We denounce those people who do the ‘wrong’ things or mislead the community not because they are not self-integrated or in agreement as a whole being, but because what they do harm to the whole society. On the other hand, we always admire and stand with people who act against things that harm the entire society. Some of these people we admire because of their integrity have come out sometimes to speak against various things even when doing so damaged them (Baxter 19-26). People with integrity will always try to change practices and values in their societies for the benefit of the entire society even when doing so makes them unpopular. Some of the financial crises that the world and various country have faced in the past happened because many bankers failed to see the wider picture of the ‘good things’ that they were doing. Most banks wanted to make themselves famous in the manner in which handled their clients and the hefty profits they made even when somebody should have known that this would devastate the economy in the future. Had bankers stopped some of the practices, something that would have made them unpopular, to preserve the economy, we would be applauding them now because of their integrity (Baxter 11-17).
Professional Integrity
Professions differ from other occupation because they have access to a wide and distinctive, mostly theoretical knowledge and related skills that are attained in most cases attained through specialized training. This form of integrity makes such knowledge and skills inaccessible to the entire population. This format brings the aspect of the general public having to trust professionals and believe that they are always doing the right things ethically and in a competent manner. For example, training to become a surgeon by profession is limited to a subtle portion of the population. The entire population would have to trust that this small portion have gotten proper training and that they are going to handle them ethically. Because the aspects of fairness, openness, honesty and consistency are virtues inherent to integrity concept, professional integrity is amply valued (Gray 6-11). Imagine a lawyer who does her work in an ethical manner. She creates the sign of a good lawyer in the minds of her clients. If she does something that is right when doing so is very hard, people will comment on that and be happy for her. Another important aspect of professionalism that is relevant to the topic of integrity is that professionals have central values where their essential characters and purposes are derived. One of the central values that apply to all professionals is the fact that they should always be committed to the interests of the public. Profession considers that whatever service is offered to the public is for the good of the community and that its absence would immeasurably impair the society. This approach does not mean that considerations for the society at large should always underpin the way in which a professional handles issues particular to the client. It simply means that a professional at least have in mind the impact of what he/she is doing on the whole society. Professionals’ actions that are significantly divergent from the public interest would call into question the integrity of a professional (Baxter 19-26).
Similar to the aspect of public interests, some other commentators have argued that each profession has a set of values that a central and specific to a particular profession. For example the principles of salvation, beauty, safety, justice, integrity, health, etc. are values that are central to different professions. Good health, for example, is central to the health profession. Public health, nursing, dentistry and clinical medicine work to ensure that the community is in good health irrespective of the ugliness that comes with it. Interior designing, on the other hand, would demand that everything be made to look beautiful. In the legal system, things may be done in many ways but at the end of the day, justice must be preserved. These examples bring into perspective that for one to have integrity, he/she should not only preserve the interests of the society, but also the values that are central to the entire society (Baxter 19-26). There are situations, however, when the values central to the professions contradict the principles of the good of the society. Let’s take an illustration of a patient who is very sick and is in great pain. The doctors do not have a way of treating the patient and are sure that the patient is destined to death, slow painful death. To the doctor and most other people it would be fair to relieve this patient of the pain and allow him/her to go to rest in a way that causes the least pain. On the other hand, a lawyer would ask; is it just to ‘kill’ that patient? To the lawyer that is a slap on the face to the legal system. The patient is denied the right to life(Gray 6-11).
Integrity and Academics
Perhaps one of the most challenging areas as far as integrity is concerned. Integrity in this sense is not on the part of the student alone bus also on that part if the professor. The student always wants to do what he/she thinks is beneficial to him/her and hence preserve his integrity. Interference by the professor in his/her affairs is a compromise to his/her integrity. To the professor, on the other hand, failure to guide the student in a manner that is beneficial to the student is a compromise on his/her integrity. Some of the richest and most famous people like Bill Gates did things that to the professors would have seemed a compromise of integrity(Maher 12-22). They used the wrong ways to get into the labs with mainframe computers where their programming started. It was through such processes that some of the most famous computer companies like Apple and Microsoft came to existence. It is difficult for you to say that it was wrong for Bill Gates and the likes to do such things because you would not be reading this paper at this moment. But again, there are many instances when a compromise of integrity on the part of the professors and school administrators have had devastating results on the part of students. Many students engage themselves in drug use in this way and render their lives failures in this way(Maher 12-22).
The solution to this issue is perhaps providing all things that students would need and providing a chance for student explore. The approach will make students to avoid doing the right things in the wrongs ways. Most schools also introduce schools to academic integrity and highlight exactly what is expected of students and the penalties that come if academic integrity is compromised. In Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), for example, it is made clear that honesty is the basis of good academic work. Students are made to understand that they are selected to the school because they demonstrate high academic capabilities and also because they are capable of making contributions to human knowledge and thought. Such a way of introducing students to academic integrity gives value to the student and makes students to do the right things because they understand who they are and their purpose (Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1-5).
In conclusion, the issue of integrity is perhaps one of the most interesting topics to discuss. This discussion suggests that perhaps that defining morality would be the basis of understanding integrity. Defining morality would put one in a position to define what is good, who a reasonable person is among other perplexing issues that relate to the topic. The aspect of self-integration social good (good to the whole community) and professional values sometimes contradict each other, but it is important to come to a point where the three meet. We need integrity for our personal benefit as well as for the benefit of our neighbors and their neighbors. It is all about humanity at the end of it all.
Works Cited
Baxter, J., Dempsey, J., et al. Real Integrity: Practical solutions for organizations seeking to promote and encourage integrity. Leeds: University of Leeds, 2014. Document. Pp. 1-30
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Academic Integrity. Boston: MIT, 2012. Document. Pp. 1-10
Maher, E. L. "Center for Academic Integrity." Choice 45.7 (2008): 1123. ProQuest. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.
Gray, Phillip W., and Sara R. Jordan. "Supervisors and Academic Integrity: Supervisors as Exemplars and Mentors." Journal of Academic Ethics 10.4 (2012): 299-311.
