Asking the right questions about identity and ethics:

“…..how is it possible for there to exist over time a just and stable society of free and equal citizens, who remain profoundly divided by reasonable religious, philosophical and moral doctrines?”

-John Rawls, Political Liberalism, pg. 4.

“…..when desires and emotions are understood in the context of interaction and interpretation which are constituted by particular cultures, it becomes evident that they can only function as they do if characterized in terms provided by on specific set of norms of justifications. Thus, to exhibit a particular pattern of emotions and desires, to treat them as appropriate or inappropriate in one type of situation rather than another, is always to reveal a commitment to one set of norms rather than another. But such a commitment is always to one distinctive evaluative and moral position over another. For the justifying norms which govern emotions and desires and their interpretation either embody or presuppose a rank ordering of goods and evils. Hence, at any particular stage in the historical development of any particular culture the established patterns of emotion, desire, satisfaction, and preference will only be understood as giving expression to some distinctive moral evaluative position.”

-Alasdair MacIntyre, Whose Justice? Which Rationality?, Pg. 76-77.

“All ethical reflection occurs relative to a particular time and place. Not only do ethical problems change from one time to the next, but the very nature and structure of ethics is determined by the particularities of a community’s history and convictions…..This is not to suggest that ethics does not address an identifiable set of relatively constant questions – the nature of good or right, freedom and nature of human behavior, the place and status of rules and virtues – but any response to these questions necessarily draws on the particular convictions of the historic communities to whom such questions may have significantly different meanings.”

-Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom, pg. 1.

A person or group can learn more about themselves by understanding themselves within their particular situation. The “particularity” of a person, group or organization’s provides a situational (contingent) frame to interpret actions.

Evaluation and judgment are fundamental to knowing who you are. People, groups and organizations evaluate how they measure up to the norms of their society. These norms of society or “mores” are the rules, purposes and kind of character individuals within which a particular society are expected to emulate. While many seek to uncover objective universals to measure individual and group growth such norms remain elusive and notoriously difficult to build a consensus around.

The field of moral philosophy in a general sense and ethics in a more narrow sense is the study of the how the relationship of goals, rules and character formation defines the moral development of an individual, group or organization.

What is your goal? What rules are explicit? What defines a successful employee?
Most people, groups and organizations have a primary goal they are seeking. The goal may be hard and easy to measure or soft and difficult to measure. In organizations it may be profit, changing peoples’ lives or improving public social responsibility. For individuals it may be living the “good” life, serving the community or leading a life of contemplative devotion.

What are the presenting issues?
Asking the right questions require going beyond surface issues to surface hidden assumptions, beliefs and values. The research management resources provide the client to choose from a list of customizable survey and assessments to target the relevant and prioritized issues rather than have to rely on a highly general set of questions.