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ETHICS SIMPLIFIED
Tactics are not always ethical, which is why they should be recognised if being used against you and why tacticians should use them with great care.
The subject of ethics is complex and has been debated since ape-men evolved into philosophers. Plato, Aristotle, Sextus Empiricus, Freud, and Nietche have all had their say drawing in factors that range from all-powerful gods to instinct. The very fact that it has needed so much examination and discussion should be proof enough that there is no clear answer.
At its most simple, ethical behaviour is about conducting ones thoughts and actions in a way that is “right” or “correct”. Unfortunately the idea of what is “right” varies from culture-to-culture and even person-to-person. In particular, what is right and wrong often changes through history. During Roman times the majority considered owning a slave completely ethical whereas today people would find it abhorrent.
In addition, ethical behaviour is often judged in the context of a specific situation. For example is it right to cheat someone? What if the person doing the cheating had no choice but to do so or starve? Is it acceptable to plant a bomb if you’re a freedom fighter instead of just a terrorist?
Even if you were to take a group of people from similar geographic and cultural backgrounds and pose these questions you would almost certainly have very many strong and differing opinions.
Without complicating the issue with concepts such as metaethics, objectivism and egoism it is worth considering the following simplifications.
- Humans have desires and needs.
- Humans operate both as individuals and as part of a group.
- As part of a group, an individual generally stands a greater chance of survival than as a loner. (outcast)
- Being part of a group means that an individual has to interact with other humans who have their own individual desires.
- While humans are quite capable of inflicting unpleasantness on other people, the average person is averse to being the recipient.
- People within a group quickly agree that inflicting unpleasantness on each other is wrong. This is called reciprocal altruism and is considered fundamental in the process of human evolution. (Cosmides 1989) This doesn’t mean they always refrain from doing it but it is generally restrained as widespread behaviour of - |
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this type generally causes the group to become dysfunctional. Where identified, the group acts collectively to punish the offender.
- People within a functional group also realise that the group offers them benefits and thus strive to protect the group (tribe / nation). This gives rise to altruism, kindness, fair play, sharing, honesty and other forms of behaviour considered right or ethical.
- The "group-centric" concept of basic ethical and unethical behaviour is passed down in the group and becomes a way of behaviour that is first learned from the parents and then reinforced by exposure to the same beliefs in the other members of the group.
- However, as a result of the “us and them” principle, ethical behaviour afforded by members of the group to each other is often not considered necessary when dealing with people from another group. (it’s alright to cheat them because they’re from the ugly people tribe.)
- As the group grows in size and becomes increasingly stable the individuals start to realise that some unethical behaviour can be conducted without seriously damaging the survival of the society. To counter this, the leaders of the society seek to enforce ethical behaviour through laws, religious interpretation and repetitive learning.
- Eventually, when the society grows so large and focused on the individual that people have time to think long and hard about things new thoughts about ethical behaviour start to emerge. For example; people start wondering whether it really is alright to keep slaves because they might just feel the same way about unpleasantness as their owners do.
- It is from this point that the concept of ethical and unethical behaviour expands until it becomes the much debated subject that it is currently. The focus of ethical attention shifts from the survival of the group to the importance of the individual and the less fortunate. Suddenly there is a dramatic rise in beaurocracy, political correctness, human rights law, forced equality, egalitarianism and human inertia. |
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- The people within the society begin to believe that it exists solely for their benefit and over a period of time the survival of the society is taken for granted. Individual viewpoints are common and consensus is a matter of offending the least number of people. Soldiers are phased out because they are nasty and, after all, kill other people. Funds are spent on the well being of the individual and not on the protection of the state. Individuals in the society contribute less-and-less while demanding more. Positive ethical issues start to conflict with other positive ethical issues. (I.e. “Child Protection Laws” versus the “Rights of the Parent”.). Criticism, blame and responsibility are avoided unless it’s aimed at the leadership. Slowly, the society becomes increasingly introverted and vulnerable until it “falls” victim to social / financial disaster or the barbarians at the gates. No great civilization has survided this process - yet.
The points above do explain why ethical behaviour is important, why it leads to kindness and altruism and why societies adopt and teach it. They also warn that an imbalance of ethical behaviour can stifle a society and lead to a deterioration of the very thing it set out to protect in the first place.
What is very hard to do is to tell you is exactly what is and what is not ethical. One way of looking at it is …
"Ethical behaviour is how other people and your society as a whole would like you to behave for what they believe to be the good of the society and themselves based on the actual beliefs of the society (regardless how strange) at that time." ( Vincent 2004)
The question remains – are tactics ethical? We’re afraid that the debate still rages. One thing is for certain – there are very few individuals that will enjoy being on the receiving end of one. People don’t like hidden threats or being outmanoeuvred.
So there it is ... 40 books in one page. Is it enough? Of course not. In the end it's up to you. It always has been! Enjoy the tactics. |
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