GS4 · 10 marks · 150 words

What does each of the following quotation mean to you? a) "When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion" - Abraham Lincoln.

Answered by 3 toppers · CSE 2020–2024

Syllabus: Ethics and Human Interface: Essence, determinants and consequences of Ethics in-human actions; dimensions of ethics; ethics - in private and public relationships. Human Values - lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators; role of family society and educational institutions in inculcating values.

How toppers approached it

From all 3 answers · about 150 words · 33% drew a diagram.

Opening

  • No separate opening3 of 3

Body

  • Points and prose2 of 3
  • Points1 of 3

Close

  • A way forward2 of 3
  • No separate close1 of 3

The toppers’ answers

Madhav AgarwalAIR 16 · CSE 2024 · 149 wordsTheir whole copy

Opening

Abraham Lincoln in the above quote has simplified the idea of religion by relating our acts to our feelings.

Body · points and prose

Eg: Religion of doing good pursued Lincoln to abolish slavery via 13th Amendment.

Religion is often used as a guide for moral action. Eg: Do not lie, or do not kill anyone/harm others.

But sometimes such religious tenets can become confusing, self seeking and harm others. Eg: exclusion

of women/dalits from Temples.

Thus, we need to see good and bad through the lens of our inner conscience - that guides our behaviour.

(eg:) Feel good after serving as a volunteer for charity.

On the contrary, when we do bad our intuition guides us (eg:) Conscience of Ashoka guided to give up weapon post Kalinga war.

Close · a vision

Overall, we can achieve a better world when we take into considerations of not just our goodness but goodness of the whole world (Universal Humanism).

More on Dimensions of Ethics

What ethics is and how it is divided: descriptive, normative and applied ethics, the essence and determinants of ethical action, consequences of ethics in human action.

All GS4 questions on Dimensions of Ethics