The
Six Pillars of Character
(tulisan english)
Trustworthiness.
Respect. Responsibility. Fairness. Caring. Citizenship. The Six Pillars of
Character are ethical values to guide our choices. The standards of conduct
that arise out of those values constitute the ground rules of ethics, and
therefore of ethical decision-making.
There is nothing
sacrosanct about the number six. We might reasonably have eight or 10, or more.
But most universal virtues fold easily into these six. The number is not
unwieldy and the Six Pillars of Character can provide a common lexicon. Why is
a common lexicon necessary? So that people can see what unites our diverse and
fractured society. So we can communicate more easily about core values. So we
can understand ethical decisions better, our own and those of others.
The Six Pillars act as
a multi-level filter through which to process decisions. So, being trustworthy
is not enough — we must also be caring. Adhering to the letter of the law is
not enough — we must accept responsibility for our action or inaction.
The Pillars can help us
detect situations where we focus so hard on upholding one moral principle that
we sacrifice another — where, intent on holding others accountable, we ignore
the duty to be compassionate; where, intent on getting a job done, we ignore
how.
In short, the Six
Pillars can dramatically improve the ethical quality of our decisions, and thus
our character and lives.
1.
TRUSTWORTHINESS
When others trust us,
they give us greater leeway because they feel we don’t need monitoring to
assure that we’ll meet our obligations. They believe in us and hold us in
higher esteem. That’s satisfying. At the same time, we must constantly live up
to the expectations of others and refrain from even small lies or self-serving
behavior that can quickly destroy our relationships.
Simply refraining from
deception is not enough. Trustworthiness is the most complicated of the six
core ethical values and concerns a variety of qualities like honesty,
integrity, reliability and loyalty.
Honesty
There is no more
fundamental ethical value than honesty. We associate honesty with people of
honor, and we admire and rely on those who are honest. But honesty is a broader
concept than many may realize. It involves both communications and conduct.
Honesty in
communications is expressing the truth as best we know it and not conveying it
in a way likely to mislead or deceive. There are three dimensions:
Truthfulness.
Truthfulness is presenting the facts to the best of our knowledge. Intent is
the crucial distinction between truthfulness and truth itself. Being wrong is
not the same thing as lying, although honest mistakes can still damage trust
insofar as they may show sloppy judgment.
Sincerity. Sincerity is
genuineness, being without trickery or duplicity. It precludes all acts,
including half-truths, out-of-context statements, and even silence, that are
intended to create beliefs or leave impressions that are untrue or misleading.
Candor. In
relationships involving legitimate expectations of trust, honesty may also
require candor, forthrightness and frankness, imposing the obligation to
volunteer information that another person needs to know.
Honesty in conduct is
playing by the rules, without stealing, cheating, fraud, subterfuge and other
trickery. Cheating is a particularly foul form of dishonesty because one not
only seeks to deceive but to take advantage of those who are not cheating. It’s
a two-fer: a violation of both trust and fairness.
Not all lies are
unethical, even though all lies are dishonest. Huh? That’s right, honesty is
not an inviolate principle. Occasionally, dishonesty is ethically justifiable,
as when the police lie in undercover operations or when one lies to criminals
or terrorists to save lives. But don’t kid yourself: occasions for ethically
sanctioned lying are rare and require serving a very high purpose indeed, such
as saving a life — not hitting a management-pleasing sales target or winning a
game or avoiding a confrontation.
Integrity
The word integrity
comes from the same Latin root as "integer," or whole number. Like a
whole number, a person of integrity is undivided and complete. This means that
the ethical person acts according to her beliefs, not according to expediency.
She is also consistent. There is no difference in the way she makes decisions
from situation to situation, her principles don’t vary at work or at home, in
public or alone.
Because she must know
who she is and what she values, the person of integrity takes time for
self-reflection, so that the events, crises and seeming necessities of the day
do not determine the course of her moral life. She stays in control. She may be
courteous, even charming, but she is never duplicitous. She never demeans
herself with obsequious behavior toward those she thinks might do her some
good. She is trusted because you know who she is: what you see is what you get.
People without
integrity are called "hypocrites" or "two-faced."
Reliability
(Promise-Keeping)
When we make promises
or other commitments that create a legitimate basis for another person to rely
upon us, we undertake special moral duties. We accept the responsibility of
making all reasonable efforts to fulfill our commitments. Because
promise-keeping is such an important aspect of trustworthiness, it is important
to:
Avoid bad-faith
excuses. Interpret your promises fairly and honestly. Don’t try to rationalize
noncompliance.
Avoid unwise
commitments. Before making a promise consider carefully whether you are willing
and likely to keep it. Think about unknown or future events that could make it
difficult, undesirable or impossible. Sometimes, all we can promise is to do
our best.
Avoid unclear
commitments. Be sure that, when you make a promise, the other person
understands what you are committing to do.
Loyalty
Some relationships —
husband-wife, employer-employee, citizen-country — create an expectation of
allegiance, fidelity and devotion. Loyalty is a responsibility to promote the
interests of certain people, organizations or affiliations. This duty goes
beyond the normal obligation we all share to care for others.
Limitations to loyalty.
Loyalty is a tricky thing. Friends, employers, co-workers and others may demand
that we rank their interests above ethical considerations. But no one has the
right to ask another to sacrifice ethical principles in the name of a special
relationship. Indeed, one forfeits a claim of loyalty when he or she asks so
high a price for maintaining the relationship.
Prioritizing loyalties.
So many individuals and groups make loyalty claims on us that we must rank our
loyalty obligations in some rational fashion. For example, it’s perfectly
reasonable, and ethical, to look out for the interests of our children, parents
and spouses even if we have to subordinate our obligations to other children,
neighbors or co-workers in doing so.
Safeguarding
confidential information. Loyalty requires us to keep some information
confidential. When keeping a secret breaks the law or threatens others,
however, we may have a responsibility to "blow the whistle."
Avoiding conflicting
interests. Employees and public servants have a duty to make all professional
decisions on merit, unimpeded by conflicting personal interests. They owe
ultimate loyalty to the public.
2.
RESPECT
People are not things,
and everyone has a right to be treated with dignity. We certainly have no
ethical duty to hold all people in high esteem, but we should treat everyone
with respect, regardless of who they are and what they have done. We have a
responsibility to be the best we can be in all situations, even when dealing
with unpleasant people.
The Golden Rule — do
unto others as you would have them do unto you — nicely illustrates the Pillar
of respect. Respect prohibits violence, humiliation, manipulation and
exploitation. It reflects notions such as civility, courtesy, decency, dignity,
autonomy, tolerance and acceptance.
Civility, Courtesy and
Decency
A respectful person is
an attentive listener, although his patience with the boorish need not be
endless (respect works both ways). Nevertheless, the respectful person treats
others with consideration, and doesn’t resort to intimidation, coercion or
violence except in extraordinary and limited situations to defend others, teach
discipline, maintain order or achieve social justice. Punishment is used in moderation
and only to advance important social goals and purposes.
Dignity and Autonomy
People need to make
informed decisions about their own lives. Don’t withhold the information they
need to do so. Allow all individuals, including maturing children, to have a
say in the decisions that affect them.
Tolerance and
Acceptance
Accept individual
differences and beliefs without prejudice. Judge others only on their
character, abilities and conduct.
3.
RESPONSIBILITY
Life is full of
choices. Being responsible means being in charge of our choices and, thus, our
lives. It means being accountable for what we do and who we are. It also means
recognizing that our actions matter and we are morally on the hook for the
consequences. Our capacity to reason and our freedom to choose make us morally
autonomous and, therefore, answerable for whether we honor or degrade the
ethical principles that give life meaning and purpose.
Ethical people show
responsibility by being accountable, pursuing excellence and exercising self-restraint.
They exhibit the ability to respond to expectations.
Accountability
An accountable person
is not a victim and doesn’t shift blame or claim credit for the work of others.
He considers the likely consequences of his behavior and associations. He
recognizes the common complicity in the triumph of evil when nothing is done to
stop it. He leads by example.
Pursuit of Excellence
The pursuit of
excellence has an ethical dimension when others rely upon our knowledge,
ability or willingness to perform tasks safely and effectively.
Diligence. It is hardly
unethical to make mistakes or to be less than "excellent," but there
is a moral obligation to do one’s best, to be diligent, reliable, careful,
prepared and informed.
Perseverance.
Responsible people finish what they start, overcoming rather than surrendering
to obstacles. They avoid excuses such as, "That’s just the way I am,"
or "It’s not my job," or "It was legal."
Continuous Improvement.
Responsible people always look for ways to do their work better.
Self-Restraint
Responsible people
exercise self-control, restraining passions and appetites (such as lust,
hatred, gluttony, greed and fear) for the sake of longer-term vision and better
judgment. They delay gratification if necessary and never feel it’s necessary
to "win at any cost." They realize they are as they choose to be,
every day.
4.
FAIRNESS
What is fairness? Most
would agree it involves issues of equality, impartiality, proportionality,
openness and due process. Most would agree that it is unfair to handle similar
matters inconsistently. Most would agree that it is unfair to impose punishment
that is not commensurate with the offense. The basic concept seems simple, even
intuitive, yet applying it in daily life can be surprisingly difficult.
Fairness is another tricky concept, probably more subject to legitimate debate
and interpretation than any other ethical value. Disagreeing parties tend to
maintain that there is only one fair position (their own, naturally). But
essentially fairness implies adherence to a balanced standard of justice
without relevance to one’s own feelings or inclinations.
Process
Process is crucial in
settling disputes, both to reach the fairest results and to minimize
complaints. A fair person scrupulously employs open and impartial processes for
gathering and evaluating information necessary to make decisions. Fair people
do not wait for the truth to come to them; they seek out relevant information
and conflicting perspectives before making important judgments.
Impartiality
Decisions should be
made without favoritism or prejudice.
Equity
An individual, company
or society should correct mistakes, promptly and voluntarily. It is improper to
take advantage of the weakness or ignorance of others.
5.
CARING
If you existed alone in
the universe, there would be no need for ethics and your heart could be a cold,
hard stone. Caring is the heart of ethics, and ethical decision-making. It is
scarcely possible to be truly ethical and yet unconcerned with the welfare of
others. That is because ethics is ultimately about good relations with other
people.
It is easier to love
"humanity" than to love people. People who consider themselves
ethical and yet lack a caring attitude toward individuals tend to treat others
as instruments of their will. They rarely feel an obligation to be honest,
loyal, fair or respectful except insofar as it is prudent for them to do so, a
disposition which itself hints at duplicity and a lack of integrity. A person
who really cares feels an emotional response to both the pain and pleasure of
others.
Of course, sometimes we
must hurt those we truly care for, and some decisions, while quite ethical, do
cause pain. But one should consciously cause no more harm than is reasonably
necessary to perform one’s duties.
The highest form of
caring is the honest expression of benevolence, or altruism. This is not to be
confused with strategic charity. Gifts to charities to advance personal
interests are a fraud. That is, they aren’t gifts at all. They’re investments
or tax write-offs.
6.
CITIZENSHIP
Citizenship includes
civic virtues and duties that prescribe how we ought to behave as part of a
community. The good citizen knows the laws and obeys them, yes, but that’s not
all. She volunteers and stays informed on the issues of the day, the better to
execute her duties and privileges as a member of a self-governing democratic
society. She does more than her "fair" share to make society work,
now and for future generations. Such a commitment to the public sphere can have
many expressions, such as conserving resources, recycling, using public
transportation and cleaning up litter. The good citizen gives more than she
takes.
Source
:
http://josephsoninstitute.org/MED/MED-2sixpillars.html
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