Would you be ethical if you knew there were no possibility that your unethical behavior would be discovered?

Answer 1

In a world where you are personally responsible for your every action there is no such thing as unethical behavior going undiscovered. You are answerable for your behavior and your actions to yourself first and foremost. There is no hiding it or getting away with it. You know what you have done and why. If it was wrong, you have to answer to yourself for it. Self respect is a far worse master than any other. It allows for no excuses.

Answer 2

Hi Rena!

The worst part of "doing" something unethical is living with the emotions associated with your actions within the self. These will arise upon seeing how your actions inevitably hurt others.

Many people justify unethical behaviour through the means you mention and go on about life emotionally unaltered. But, this doesn't make the behaviour ethical. Any unethical behaviour will have negative consequences. And, as a result, someone will get hurt or something will be damaged.

So, whether a person wants to admit to themselves a wrong-doing or not isn't part of this equation in my mind. Justifications can protect the self but not getting caught, having the finger pointed at you, does not make unethical behaviour, ethical.

I personally would like to think though that all unethical behaviour catches up with the wrong-doer somehow, eventually, either indirectly or directly.

:-)

Answer 3

If you omit jobs in between other jobs - it's not just unethical, it's considered lying on an application and grounds for not getting the job or even being terminated from the job if they find out you lied. However, if you are omitting job history that is older than 10 years - or is 10 jobs ago... that's different. A lot of employers don't check that far back anyway and as long as you have current, relevent experience - that's what matters. Keep in mind that there is a difference between a resume and an application. Many people will omit things from a resume that aren't relevent or list jobs in a certain order as a way to highlight areas that are related to the job they are applying for... but when you are completing an application, to omit jobs is risky at best, and can cost you the job at worst.

Answer 4

No. Not if being ethical depended upon virtue. If being ethical depended on being dishonest, then it might work. But in the end, we suggest that this 'dangling thread of dishonesty' would only reflect a skein of prosperity and only for a moment. It would ultimately undo the ball of ones personal integrity. And what little dignity we had at the beginning this lie would be lost as a cost of perpetuating it. We would truly be wretched. Especially since we were privy to the difference at the onset. Caution. A word to the wise: be careful about making these sort of Conditional-Bi conditional deals with ones integrity. The cost of loss of dignity is too high.

Answer 5

Unethical behavior never goes undiscovered only the perpetrator may remain unknown. Ethical behavior requires that a duty be done. If it is not, it will become known because duties are never invented out of whole cloth. They exist for a reason and if that reason is not fulfilled, then it becomes obvious. However, many duties are shared and then, although the dereliction is noticed, the one at fault is not readily ascertained, especially if all are held to be guilty.

Answer 6

In my mind all ethics is based upon fear by each individual. My ethics is different from yours because we have different fears based upon various things like peer pressure to fear the sky my fall.

So for me to be unethical, i would have to be untrue to myself and belief system. It does not matter whether i will be discovered or not or even if our ethics systems are different. So for me I cannot be unethical.

Answer 7

Your "unethical" behavior is just a result of your big problem, with yourself, which leads to something else - that big problem becomes a bigger problem when you mess with other people, or other people find out what you're doing, especially people who you think can't get you back for your crimes. No crime goes unpunished, it's the law of everything. Basically Joe Pesce said it so nicely You're getting F__cked one way or the otha!

Answer 8

Yes I would do the ethical thing. Because I would have to live with myself and the knowledge I did the right thing.

Answer 9

I'd like to believe that all people are inherently good. And since I would fall into that category, why would I want to do something if I know it's not good?

Answer 10

Yes, I know because I am tested daily.