Integrity Needs External Referents
Moral wholeness for a whole world
"Please don't go, please don't leave me alone.
A mirror is so much harder to hold." Jon Foreman (click here for song and lyrics)
Moral wholeness for a whole world
"Please don't go, please don't leave me alone.
A mirror is so much harder to hold." Jon Foreman (click here for song and lyrics)
Integrity is
moral wholeness—living consistently in moral wholeness. Its opposite is
corruption, the distortion, perversion, and deterioration of moral goodness, resulting
in the exploitation of people. Global
integrity is moral wholeness at all levels in our world—from the
individual to the institutional to the international. Global
integrity is requisite for “building the future we want—being the people
we need.” It is not easy, it is not always black and white, and it can be
risky. These entries explore the many facets of integrity with a view towards
the global efforts to promote sustainable development and wellbeing.
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Integrity needs external referents. Why? Because
of the human propensity to self-justify and self-deceive. Integrity cannot just be based on only an inner sense of congruence—the sense of having aligned one’s values
with one’s actions. Why? Because one’s values may not be entirely moral, and
one’s perception of inner congruence may not be entirely accurate. So, trust yourself but do not completely trust yourself. We need external moral and accountability referents to hold up the mirror, to help us appraise our levels
of integrity. See also the entry from 25 February 2016, Facing Ourselves.
We define integrity as living consistently in moral wholeness (an ideal). Practically, though, it involves endeavoring to live
consistently in moral wholeness (the day in and day out reality). Here are
three additional areas to further strengthen living consistently in integrity.
Self-awareness
--I am aware that I am not always aware how I distort
and bias my moral self-appraisals
--I do my best to admit mistakes and wrongdoing
External Morals
--I can clearly clarify the main external
referents that guide my moral values and ethical principles
--I am committed to internalize and follow these
moral values and ethical principles
External Accountability
--I entrust myself to specific
people and processes for scrutiny and accountability
--I use resources to help me grow in
integrity
Applications
--Which of the three areas above are you
strongest in or weakest?
--How would you adjust or add to the items above?
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