I

\7r+y Sruov BusrNess Enrrcs? I .l

juclgnlents regarding f'acts and events as they'are or
d be guided. ocour ancl state the laws governirrg them, the
judgrnents of normative science like ethics are.indgments
of value stating rihethe. a pafticular
conduct is in conformity witlr the moral ideal or the ideal of goodness.
MJraljudgrnents are pot
descriptive but prescriptive, they state what lve ought to do, noiwhat we
actuatty dolrhey evaluate
our conCuct as right or wrong.
r :=trned to r"ieath b1
,:=. Iepis.ing tlrerl b1
H . irencis bribed the POSTT-II.ATES OF ETHICS
a- - - ! L,i his decision
t,

Hence, ethics is a scietrce rvhich deals with the ideals involved in human
::,:a. :lllce it woulc conduct. It cleals with the
standards of Tightness and wrongness, good and evil involved in conduct.
---= '---rnains in a State It is a norrrrative or
:esulative science of conduct. But it should be noted that all types of beliaviour
er ' ::a lO eSCape, ltt jo uot cot1re under the purview
or conduct of men
,' . : -'.Ilrlilg that ont of ethics. Take for example, the foilowing incident. An office ernplolree
: going 1o a bank to deposit a large office sum. On tlre r,vay he is shot at by cerlain miscreants,
r: l:.< :.,;iel)'or statt is
i- - - Inai uoLtld har', 'iightll'wottnded and the money is snatched frorn him by tl'rose rniscreants. I, this case, the office
:mployee should nct be held morally responsible for the loss of moley, for
his-concluct is ,ot t6e
-:sult of his free-will. The monev
r.vas snatched from him against his will by brLrte force. Arry
: . ..:aii''. We have t,
-'rnduct which is not done by a person of his own free-will is not judged to be the sLrbject
:-
: . :-... leads us to th, nratter of -
r:: ,-.,. bLrt w'hat is th'
:ihics. such a conduct is neither good nor bad. But il in the .or-,..i of police
enquirv. ii is founcl that :
rl.:,rn \\ ith the ideal c
re office ernployee was in league with the miscreants who shot at and slightly injured hirn. he :
'rould surely be held responsible for his deed and be punished for it. Hence, i.".donl of r.villof the :
:rent or doer is fundamental postulate or presupposition of morality. An
actiou done by the free-
; rll of an agent is the expression of the nature of
character of that person and is not something that :
'ccurs involuntarily or accidentally. Such events that do not follow from the free-will
of thc doer,
-:
: : not form the subject matter of moraljudgments. For this reason,
reflex actions, instinctive actiorrs.
3- ,;
\\'hat. then, is :eo-motor actions, accidents etc., cannot be said to be morally rights '-
or wrong. A man fleeing fronr
"--,::.lJs or values. lt : larlgerous animal is behaving under the influence of the instinit of self-prJservation,
He cannot
i :,:..rr and Goodnes :e blamed for the flight. Similarly, when we withdraw our hand
when it touches a very hot object,
': .'. l,rne. Logic dea -: actiotl is att instance of reflex action, that occurs automatically ancl involuntarily. An
-
icleo-motor
: - ,, . pursuit of Trur '-.:on i- one in which action follows from the very idea of it. A spectator watching a footballer
., .. .te ideal of Goc' i :'- ut to kick a bal I into the net, h imself kicks the
man standing in front of him. =
;: : :-ple aPPrelrensi: '' icking' His act of kicking followed impulsively from the ilea of kicking. It He had no intention
did not follow frorn
. :" .- like Phlsics a: '-." ;otlscious decision on the parl of the man. Hence, the conduct does nof full within the purview
: : :rl r-\periellce a' :toral judgment' The sarne is the case with accidents, e.g. breaking
one,s leg as a result of =
i,:..-:S are descript: :ing on abanana skin. only deeds done by thafree-will of:an agent iorm
the sJbject matter of =
I ;: - il ilou'the,"- ott! - -:).judgrlent' Hence, fieedom of will is the most fundamental presupposition oipostulate of -
: , :-' . in space and tirr - -:.
-, : t.CBeded bY cert: But tlrere are other important considerations as well. Suppose, =
a boy of eight sets fire to a hr:t
: -. :itat sllch and sL. --: ;auses considerable loss of property. Will he be punishej forhis deed? He will certai,ly be
: : - 'llC€flled tlOt ri '- jed by his elders and even given a few slaps, but ire will not be legally pror"r*jund jailed.
: - lulllall aotions \\ -' reason is that in an.eight-year-old boy, the rational =
faculty has-noid'eveloped pr6perly to
: ,": imellts of fact. : ' ' rstrish good from bad. The same holds true for mentally retarded persons. The
second postulate =