I started this a long while ago and, along with a cool graph, it's going to be broken up into multiple parts.
Integrity, as I'm going to be using the word, relates to the distance between our highest ideals and our actual 'lived' values. In other words, to what degree does how we believe we SHOULD live line up with how we DO live?
I chose to arrange this graph around our actual 'lived' values because I think that's one reasonable way of measuring development. As I've explored this topic I've come to see that there are many different ways of looking at which bar on the graph might be most significant in terms of our own development as individuals and groups.
If integrity alone is most important then the rest of the living and non-living world around us would appear to put most of humanity to shame. I've never seen an ant living in a way that undermined their highest known values. They're troopers, they are. Not to mention bacteria, or better yet, a big ol' rock. Now, I'll concede some ignorance to what rocks may or may not be aware of but I think it's fair to say they're giving it their best or at the very least they have a really strong union and seem to fall in line with their collective 'rock values' without exception.
Even babies have a leg up on adult human beings! How embarrassing...While they may need us to change their diapers, they have complete confidence that they are the center of the universe and act accordingly. The naive innocence they express represents perfect integrity, from one perspective, and yet I do not believe that when Jesus said to become like children he meant that we should cry when we don't get what we want and freely poop our pants.
While there's no going back, no 'return to innocence,' children often live up to a high level of integrity that diminishes in most of us over time. Their choices tend to line up more frequently with what their highest known ideals are, even if these ideals are often relatively immature and simplistic. Not to limit the value of children to walking object lessons but to simply point out that while most are lacking in developed ideals and values that take into account the complexities of life, they often live with greater integrity than most adults.
The other side of this is that integrity alone doesn't lead to higher values being expressed in the world. All integrity means is that we're living up to what we've come to believe to be the highest ideals, regardless of what those ideals might actually be. We like to think integrity means living up to some certain objective ethical standard but that's something else entirely. How we come to discern which values and ideals are actually higher is another story. Integrity really is entirely subjective. This means that a used car salesperson could, theoretically, have greater integrity than a Red Cross aid worker.
Why? Because integrity isn't just about what you do, it's also about what you really believe. Yes, what we believe matters! Having said that, belief or faith without action is dead. They're both important and connected and I think it's helpful to see this relationship more clearly.
Integrity, as I'm going to be using the word, relates to the distance between our highest ideals and our actual 'lived' values. In other words, to what degree does how we believe we SHOULD live line up with how we DO live?
I chose to arrange this graph around our actual 'lived' values because I think that's one reasonable way of measuring development. As I've explored this topic I've come to see that there are many different ways of looking at which bar on the graph might be most significant in terms of our own development as individuals and groups.
If integrity alone is most important then the rest of the living and non-living world around us would appear to put most of humanity to shame. I've never seen an ant living in a way that undermined their highest known values. They're troopers, they are. Not to mention bacteria, or better yet, a big ol' rock. Now, I'll concede some ignorance to what rocks may or may not be aware of but I think it's fair to say they're giving it their best or at the very least they have a really strong union and seem to fall in line with their collective 'rock values' without exception.
Even babies have a leg up on adult human beings! How embarrassing...While they may need us to change their diapers, they have complete confidence that they are the center of the universe and act accordingly. The naive innocence they express represents perfect integrity, from one perspective, and yet I do not believe that when Jesus said to become like children he meant that we should cry when we don't get what we want and freely poop our pants.
While there's no going back, no 'return to innocence,' children often live up to a high level of integrity that diminishes in most of us over time. Their choices tend to line up more frequently with what their highest known ideals are, even if these ideals are often relatively immature and simplistic. Not to limit the value of children to walking object lessons but to simply point out that while most are lacking in developed ideals and values that take into account the complexities of life, they often live with greater integrity than most adults.
The other side of this is that integrity alone doesn't lead to higher values being expressed in the world. All integrity means is that we're living up to what we've come to believe to be the highest ideals, regardless of what those ideals might actually be. We like to think integrity means living up to some certain objective ethical standard but that's something else entirely. How we come to discern which values and ideals are actually higher is another story. Integrity really is entirely subjective. This means that a used car salesperson could, theoretically, have greater integrity than a Red Cross aid worker.
Why? Because integrity isn't just about what you do, it's also about what you really believe. Yes, what we believe matters! Having said that, belief or faith without action is dead. They're both important and connected and I think it's helpful to see this relationship more clearly.
2 comments:
I'm assuming the numbers are just arbitrary on the graph and you didn't actually work out some sort of algebraic equation...
Sort of arbitrary, though I was modelling them after different types of people at different stages of development. The point was mostly to convey my emerging bias towards how we actually live, which many people do better than myself.
Of course, values are understood subjectively so that takes some effort to sort out.
Also, I'd like to hear your thoughts beyond your amazement with my graph;)
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