Determinants & Consequences of Ethics

1. Determinants & Evaluation of Ethical Actions

Cue Words	Notes
Determinants of Ethics	Factors that shape whether an action is judged as ethical or unethical: Object / Nature of the Act: The action itself (e.g., murder is intrinsically wrong; charity is intrinsically good). Intention / Motive: The underlying purpose of the actor. Good intentions cannot justify intrinsically evil means. Circumstances: Contextual factors (time, place, agent's condition) that increase or diminish moral responsibility (e.g., self-defense vs premeditated violence).
Essential Conditions for Moral Evaluation	An action can be morally evaluated ONLY if it satisfies these prerequisites: Free Will & Freedom of Choice: The agent had real alternative choices and performed the act voluntarily without physical or psychological coercion. Knowledge & Consciousness: The agent possessed knowledge of the act and understood its likely consequences (infants or sleepwalkers cannot be held morally culpable). Mental Sanity: Severe mental impairment or psychosis excuses strict moral accountability.

Cue Words

Notes

Determinants of Ethics

Factors that shape whether an action is judged as ethical or unethical:

Object / Nature of the Act: The action itself (e.g., murder is intrinsically wrong; charity is intrinsically good).
Intention / Motive: The underlying purpose of the actor. Good intentions cannot justify intrinsically evil means.
Circumstances: Contextual factors (time, place, agent's condition) that increase or diminish moral responsibility (e.g., self-defense vs premeditated violence).

Essential Conditions for Moral Evaluation

An action can be morally evaluated ONLY if it satisfies these prerequisites:

Free Will & Freedom of Choice: The agent had real alternative choices and performed the act voluntarily without physical or psychological coercion.
Knowledge & Consciousness: The agent possessed knowledge of the act and understood its likely consequences (infants or sleepwalkers cannot be held morally culpable).
Mental Sanity: Severe mental impairment or psychosis excuses strict moral accountability.

2. Consequences of Absence of Ethics

Cue Words	Notes
Individual & Bureaucratic Level	Individual: Apathy, selfishness, domestic violence, narcissism, bystander effect. Bureaucracy: Corruption, conflict of interest, abuse of discretionary power, nepotism, red-tapism, insensitivity toward marginalized groups, and trust deficit.
Political & Social Level	Political: Criminalization of politics, horse-trading, illicit money power, majoritarian polarization, and erosion of constitutional norms. Social: Commodification of women, gender violence, drug addiction, neglect of senior citizens, and Breakdown of social trust.
Environmental & International Level	Environmental: Ecocide, illegal mining, deforestation, climate inaction, and resource depletion. International: Cross-border terrorism, predatory debt-trap diplomacy, vaccine nationalism, trade protectionism, and unprovoked warfare.

3. Real-World Committee & Institutional Anchors

Cue Words	Notes
2nd ARC 4th Report — 'Ethics in Governance' (2007)	Traces the consequences of ethical erosion in Indian bureaucracy to weak accountability structures, and recommends a statutory Code of Ethics, Integrity Pacts in procurement, and protection for whistleblowers as remedies.
Vohra Committee Report (1993)	Real government committee that documented the nexus between criminals, corrupt bureaucrats, and politicians — a concrete illustration of the political/bureaucratic consequences of absent ethics.

Determinants & Consequences of Ethics ​