A friend asks our advice about a tricky moral choice. Occasionally, though, we act in a way that startles us. While moral conditioning may be necessary for social stability, it is inadequate as a paradigm of integrity.
When responding to a moral dilemma, we just repeat the gestures and words of a parent, an authority figure, a religious text. The more we give in to these things, the more our integrity is eroded and we find ourselves carried along on a wave of psychological and social habit. It is liable to be remorselessly buffeted by the winds of desire and fear, doubt and worry, fantasy and egoism. In accepting that every action is a risk, integrity embraces the fallibility that certainty disdainfully eschews.Įthical integrity is threatened as much by attachment to the security of what is known as the fear of the insecurity of what is unknown. When we are faced with the unprecedented and unrepeatable complexities of this moment, the question is not, “What is the right thing to do?” but “What is the compassionate thing to do?” This question can be approached with integrity but not with certainty. Stephen Batchelor: Compassion As Awakening There were regularly at least fifty people in attendance and almost everyone arrived by bicycle. These talks were given in a large warm loft space across from Trinity Bellwoods Park in downtown Toronto. The following is a transcript of a year-long series Michael Stone gave on bringing ethical awareness into every-day life.
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