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| Excerpted pg 16 |
Caring
BE kind, compassionate, empathetic, charitable, forgiving, and grateful.
If you existed alone in the universe, there would be no need for
ethics and your heart could be a cold, hard stone. Caring is the heart
of ethics, and ethical decision-making. It is scarcely possible to be
truly ethical and yet unconcerned with the welfare of others. That is
because ethics is ultimately about good relations with other people.
It is easier to love "humanity" than to love people. People who
consider themselves ethical and yet lack a caring attitude toward
individuals tend to treat others as instruments of their will. They
rarely feel an obligation to be honest, loyal, fair or respectful except
insofar as it is prudent for them to do so, a disposition which itself
hints at duplicity and a lack of integrity. A person who really cares
feels an emotional response to both the pain and pleasure of others.
Of course, sometimes we must hurt those we truly care for, and some
decisions, while quite ethical, do cause pain. But one should
consciously cause no more harm than is reasonably necessary to perform
one’s duties.
The highest form of caring is the honest expression of benevolence,
or altruism. This is not to be confused with strategic charity. Gifts to
charities to advance personal interests are a fraud. That is, they
aren’t gifts at all. They’re investments or tax write-offs. They have a place, but be clear about your intentions.
How does this fit your views? What are your thoughts on BEING a caring person, community, business owner?
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