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Below we explore spiritual questions applied to ethics.
Ethics address the ‘should’ & ‘ought’, questions about what is right. From private matters of conscience to issues of public concern such as business ethics and political judgment. We try to apply spiritual principles to these moral questions.
Posts for example address the dilemma of working parents between work and being at home for the children. What guidelines should be employed when disciplining children within the home? What should be the limits of tolerance, protectiveness, anger or impatience?
Human beings need to economically make use of the physical environment. Where should the balance be between valuing and preserving nature and exploiting it to meet the economic needs of a growing world population?
Can it be right to tell someone something they don’t want to know like their medical condition? What about euthanasia? How far should we go to prolong life? Ought we not take our own life?
Articles, linked to below, tackle how to approach political ethics using spiritual principles. Is it right to have a monarchy? How should we regulate free market capitalism? What are the right and wrong ways to deal with a country’s financial crisis? What about immigration policy and multiculturalism? What stance should we take to the numbers of refugees we take in. Should we be ashamed of the western world values. In relation to violence, how should we respond to the human misery caused by civil wars and lawless rogue states?
Insincerity and hypocrisy are criticised. But arguably white lies and pretence are needed to oil the social cogs of society. When is it fair to criticise those who don’t always practice what they preach? When is it wrong to gossip?
If discrimination and judging others are wrong, just how tolerant should one try to be? Posts below look at attitudes to criminals, layabouts, foul language, litter.
Should we put our needs before those of others? Should one give favours on the understanding we will get them back in return or should we follow the ideal of unconditional love? Do we get our own way too often?
Should we try to tell the difference between right and wrong? How much should one give to charities? How to evaluate one’s own private desires? Why does it matter if we go against our conscience? Are there really any impure thoughts? Is sexual imagery too explicit? Where is the harm in watching pornography. How does one become a better person?
Child deaths across the world have nearly halved in the last twenty years. So says a new report from Unicef a part of the United Nations. The dreadful figure of 12 million under fives who died in 1990 was reduced to 7 million last year. Sadly rates remain high in Saharan north Africa where one … Continue reading Aid working for children
Recently some friends of mine took a four day trip to Paris to mark their 28th wedding anniversary. So far so normal, but they both have iPhones and one has an iPad and this resulted in their being able to share their trip with all their friend’s real and unreal on Face Book. Every few … Continue reading Quo Vadis
The British live in a curiously tolerant country – one which allows a range of values, views about life, and philosophical and political beliefs. But one thing for which people are not tolerant is intolerance! The public see anyone as discriminatory, moralistic and rejecting who shows intolerance of diversity. And so to criticise the sex … Continue reading Just how tolerant should I try to be?
You can put junk into your body, or into your mind. Or neither …. Short video by Off The LeftEye [youtube_sc url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNzfeeXvUc0]
Not everybody wants to be a better person and develop along what can be our hectic journey of life. My cat doesn’t. She’s quite content with the stage she has reached in her life — as long as I feed and stroke her on a daily basis. Nor do those human beings who are uninterested in … Continue reading How to become a better person?
Don’t we hope for clean air to breathe, unspoilt land for human habitation, water courses teeming with healthy nature, fairness in public discourse and decision-making showing respect and care, untarnished by greed, and unsullied by envy? Just as there is impurity around about us is there not also impurity in our individual thinking?
By Stephen Russell-Lacy. We don’t choose our neighbours, nor our bosses and work-mates, not even our relatives. Sometimes these people are uncomfortable to live with, difficult to talk to, or they oppose our hopes and aspirations. How do you look after your own needs whilst dealing fairly with these people? How do you deal … Continue reading Look after yourself & others – How to do both?
Okay so you seldom shout at your teenage son to keep his bedroom tidy. In fact you don’t voice explosive anger, never mind verbal abuse or a threat of violence to get your own way. But perhaps without even realising it, do you sometimes use less obvious methods of manipulation?
Do your attempts at influencing others amount to trying to make them think, act, or feel the way you do? How do you assess the way you manage other people in your life? Do you get your own way too often?
Want to do what you think is right despite what your boss tells you? Are you willing to risk losing your job for your principles? Traffic warden Hakim Berkani tried to issue parking tickets in London’s Kensington and Chelsea only as a last resort. He was sacked for not complying with a secret quota system for … Continue reading Ethical parking control?
The financial crisis has resulted in loss of jobs and personal savings, and huge damage to business confidence. To get greater economic growth some want to encourage the profit motive and reduce regulation by government. But it is precisely the failures of international financial regulation that had led directly to the crisis. Here are some suggestions about what you can do to tackle the problem.
